That's Not Love
by TemperanceNova
Summary: He ran across a random teenager passed out in the park on the verge of hypothermia…and brought him home.
1. Scrooge? Hell yeah…

There was just no denying it. He hated Christmas. The snow wasn't the problem, it was the holiday itself that made him want to gag. It was suppose to be a time for family, gifts and love. Family, he didn't even want to start dwelling on that. Gifts, you had to have money for. And love? Well there hadn't been anything to brag about in that department. Sure there had been relationships, but nothing worth hanging on to. He could only tolerate snotty girlfriends for so long.

Sighing heavily to himself the man reached up to run his half gloved hand through his hair, shaking some of the snow off. Not that it really mattered if he allowed it to accumulate or not. The powdery white flakes raining down relentlessly mimicked his hair color so perfectly that the two blended together flawlessly. He just didn't want his hair to be drenched by the time he made it home. It was a pretty normal routine for him to just get out of the office to meander through the park late at night when he was restless, but today he had ventured out in the early morning, knowing the snow would keep people indoors. And he was absolutely right, the entire park was barren and silent. He was the only person in existence it seemed, his long red leather jacket standing out against the white backdrop like a road flare.

Keeping his icy blue eyes plastered on the ground in front of him, he kicked at the snow with every step he took. He couldn't help but smirk every time his boots sank into the snow, the crunching sound of it compacting under his weight bringing back fond memories of snowball fights with his brother. His _twin_. He found himself stopping short in the middle of the walkway, shaking his head to get the memory to fade. It wasn't until that moment, when he glanced around to find something else to occupy his mind with, that he spotted the bench just a few inches in front of him. At first it was easy to see how it had blended in to the surroundings. The snow had fallen so suddenly in the already freezing temperatures that the entire thing was covered in a good inch of snow.

But what actually caught his attention was not the bench itself, but the body curled up on the end of it, hidden by an equally thick layer of snow. The first thought that crossed his mind was undoubtedly morbid. Panic coursing through his body at the thought of stumbling upon a corpse in the park. He instantly scanned the surrounding area, looking for help, but he was alone in the gray tinted world. With a dead body.

"Shit, what do I do _now?_" he huffed, taking a step back away from the bench.

Go get help. That was the logical course of action, but what was he suppose to say? _I found a dead body in the park on a random bench?_ That would go over _really _well. As he stood there trying to come up with a plan and failing miserably, a rather large chunk of snow toppled down off of the body onto the ground with a thud, revealing a denim hood pulled up over the figures head. He flinched, staring at the body wide eyed until he realized it was shivering. It wasn't a dead body, just some homeless person with poor sleeping arrangements.

Letting out a sigh of relief he turned on the path, prepared to just leave them alone. It wasn't his responsibility to take care of the homeless people in the city. Shit, he was two steps away from being homeless himself if Lady had her way. What kind of friend bled you for every cent you owned? Scoffing he took a step past the bench, glancing idly down at the shivering form. The thought crossed his mind that if he just walked away and left them sleeping there, they might _actually _freeze to death and then some other poor bastard really _would _find a corpse in the park. The least he could do was wake them up.

"Hey, hey buddy!" he called, assuming that the person was most likely male. "It's snowing out here, go find a shelter!"

Pulling his foot up out of the snow he nudged the end of the bench rather hard, hoping to jolt the person awake. But the only reaction he got was more snow crumbling off of their body to reveal more of the denim jacket they were wearing. Groaning he leaned down, grabbing them by the shoulder and tried to shake them awake. The only part of the half frozen body that moved was the head, dipping farther down off of the bench allowing a tuft of snowy white hair to fall out from under the hood. White hair like his own? Now he was too interested to walk away at all.

"Hey, seriously, you can't be sleeping out here," he demanded, reaching down to grab the edge of the denim hood and pulled it back off of the figures head.

A mop of shaggy white hair spilled out around the boy's sleeping face, a little shorter than his own. From what he could see, the kid had pale skin, flawless in a way that made his cheeks burn. He was adorable! The way his eyebrows were pressed together like he was having a bad dream, his bottom lip trembling from the cold. Leaning farther over the end of the bench, he studied his young features more closely, noticing the subtle blue tint on his quivering lips.

"Shit, you're gonna freeze to death out here, kid," his hissed, stepping around the end of the bench to pick him up.

It wasn't his job to worry about homeless people, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave the kid out in the cold. He had to be in his teens, his body light and thin as he scooped him up into his arms, taking a small moment to adjust before he marched off toward his office. At the very least he could give the kid a warm place to crash for the time being. Thankfully, his plan to be the only one out and about worked in his favor as he carried the young boy back to his office. It wouldn't look at all good carrying an unconscious teen down the street…

It was difficult to say the least trying to wrestle the door to his office open while balancing the still unconscious teen in his arms. He nearly crushed his ankle _twice _in the heavy door before he was finally able to pull it open far enough to wedge half of his body in, keeping it open. Huffing he shoved the door one last time with his ass, stumbling into the office nearly dropping the kid in the process. He stood there for a moment completely still, trying to collect his thoughts. He ran across a random teenager passed out in the park on the verge of hypothermia…and brought him _home_.

"What the hell did I just get myself into?" he groaned, shuffling over toward his old beat up couch on the far left of the room.

Laying the boy gently on the couch, he just stood there, staring down at him wondering just what he was suppose to do now. He had expected the kid to wake up before he made it _all _the way back to the office, but he hadn't even shifted in his arms. Several times he had stopped just to check to see if he was still _breathing_. His first thought was to strip the kid of is wet clothes and bury him in as many blankets as he could scrounge up, but quickly realized how bad that would look in the long run. Naked teenager on some strange man's couch. It had lawsuit written all over it. Rolling his shoulders lightly, he leaned down, tugging the brown boots off of the kid's feet, along with his socks and decided to leave it at that. Shrugging out of his jacket he dropped it onto the pool table next to the couch as he headed for the stairs in search of some blankets.

* * *

><p>He was having a hard time finding his way out of the disturbing dream he'd been having into the conscious world. The only things that lingered in his brain were the memory of being so cold he felt frozen and how he now felt as snug as a bug in a rug. Sighing contently to himself he decided to just lay there a while longer. The entire ordeal had to have been just a nightmare. There was no way he could have been kicked out on his ass into the freezing winter night and somehow magically wake up all warm and toasty. It was just a nightmare. He <em>was <em>loved and cared for. _Safe_.

Letting out another soft sigh he snuggled down under the blankets, breathing in the scent surrounding him deeply. It was then that he realized something was _terribly _wrong. The smell was no where near familiar. Strong and masculine, certainly nothing like his own scent. He'd been forbidden to wear any type of cologne for longer than he cared to remember. Panic shot through him, forcing his eye's open despite the fear of finding out where he was.

The room was dark, the only source of light came from the large windows that allowed the moonlight to filter in enough to just make out the objects surrounding him. There was an old pool table several feet away with what looked like a jacket hanging off the side. There was an old beat up coffee table right in front of the couch he was laying on, his boots and socks discarded underneath it. He immediately lifted the covers that had been layered on top of him, thankful to find that he was still fully clothed. He was in a strange place, warm under strange blankets on someone's couch, with his clothes still in tact. He'd been through _much _worse, that was for sure.

"Hey, you're finally awake, kid?" a deep voice muttered, causing his head to whip around to the back of the room.

There was a small neon sign hanging on the back wall surrounded by several weapons that helped illuminate the man that was sitting at the rather old looking desk across the room. His long legs were propped on the desk, arms behind his head as he leaned back in his chair, staring over at him with light colored eyes. The distance between them didn't help the young man to see what color they actually were and the only thing that he could focus on was the man's _hair_. It was the same snowy white color as his own hair, but a little longer.

The man dropped his feet down off of the desk with a loud thud, leaning forward in his chair to smirk at him. He wondered idly if he would be able to snatch up his boots and socks and make it out the front doors before the strange man could stop him. His eyes darted between the door and his belongings, then back to the stranger without blinking. His limbs felt weak, making him unsure that he could make the sprint without tripping over himself like an idiot. The man seemed to notice his reluctance, leaning forward on his desk to prop his head up in his hands, indicating that he wasn't going to try and chase him.

"Name's Dante," the man muttered. "Found you sleeping on a park bench under a nice layer of snow. Being the nice guy that I am, I couldn't leave you out there to freeze to death."

He honestly wasn't sure what to say. Never in his life did he expect a random passerby would take it upon themselves to just take him in like a stray dog. It had been so long since he'd felt the sentiment of kindness, he wasn't able to even respond properly. He just sat there, gawking at the man in sheer disbelief. There had to be some kind of catch. A hook or something. And given the run down state of the building around him, he had a good feeling that hook was money. He didn't know how to break it to the man that he was flat broke without getting his face beat in. Or worse.

"So, you got a name kid? Or did you hit your head somewhere and lose your memory? Maybe the ability to speak too?"

The young man dipped his head down, figuring he at least owed the man that much. It was just his name after all and he'd already given the boy his without hesitation,

"Nero…" he mumbled under his breath, unable to raise his voice above a low pitch.

"What's that? Can't hear ya if you're mumblin', kid!" Dante shouted, trying to get a point across.

Nero couldn't stop the wave of irritation that washed over him, the past weeks events taking their toll on his patience. He jerked his head up quickly, glaring over at Dante in pure fury.

"Nero! I _said _my name is Nero!" he shouted, watching as Dante just blinked at him with a blank expression.

The second that he realized he had raised his voice he instantly dropped his eyes to the floor. He hated that it was now a natural response for him to just bail from any kind of assertive nature to avoid being beaten. _Damn conditioning… _He sat staring at the floor, hands curled into the blankets tightly as he waited for some kid of punishment. But the strange man just _laughed_.

"See, was that so hard? Nero, huh? Not a bad name…" he chuckled, his chair creaking softly.

Nero's eyes jumped back up to him, trying his best to look less unsure of himself. He'd never been particularly good at socializing to begin with, that coupled with his most recent lifestyle had lead him down a very lonely path. This man, Dante, seemed full of life and just _happy_. He wasn't exactly sure how to deal with him.

"Neither is yours," he muttered, hoping he wouldn't yell at him again for being quiet.

"So, you wanna tell me why you were sleeping on a park bench in the middle of December? Where are your parents?"

"Parents?" He dropped his eyes to the floor again for a brief moment then glanced back up at Dante with a shrug. "I'm an orphan."

He couldn't help but notice how Dante's smile faltered a bit at that statement, but he just continued talking as if it really didn't bother him at all,

"Guess we have that in common. So that's why you were out there?" he sighed, opening a drawer on the other side of the desk and rummaged around in it.

"N-no, I got kicked out of my home," he stammered, hoping whatever Dante was looking for wasn't something to hurt him with.

"Kicked out? Aren't you a minor, can they just _do _that?"

Nero shook his head lightly, watching Dante's hand closely as it emerged from the drawer with something so small clutched in it he couldn't even make out what it was.

"No, I'm n-nineteen," he added, trying not to panic.

"Ah, well I guess you're lucky I found you then, here catch," he chuckled, tossing whatever the small object was in Nero's direction.

Nero found himself nearly falling off of the side of the couch as he flailed to catch the small object, looking at it closely. Chap stick? He glanced up at Dante with a confused stare. _Chap stick?_

"For your lips, kid. Sleeping outside like that they were all chapped. I'm amazed they weren't bleeding," he clarified, standing up from his desk to stretch.

Licking his lips idly, he could feel the cracked skin, hissing slightly when the friction caused his lips to sting. Using the sleeve of his jacket to wipe them dry, he opened the tube of chap stick and ran it over his lips just once. It tasted like…strawberries?

"OK! Now that we've got _that _out of the way, what'ya say we get you a shower and some dry clothes, huh? You can crash here for now, it's snowing like hell out there," Dante yawned, trotting across the floor toward the stairs.

Nero just sat still, watching him carefully as he moved closer, finally able to make out the color of his eyes. They were blue, but nothing like his stormy blue, they were more like ice blue. Dante didn't seem to notice, or care that he was studying him, cutting the corner of the couch and stopped at the bottom step. For a moment Dante just stared over at him as if he didn't understand what was going on, pausing with his hand on the railing.

"What are you waiting for? Get up and follow me…" he demanded, nodding at the steps sharply.

Flinching slightly, Nero kicked the blankets off of his legs, ignoring his aching limbs as he climbed to his feet to follow Dante upstairs. Freezing to death wasn't something he wanted to face and as long as Dante was being nice, he didn't see much of a point in fighting him. That, and the authority in the man's voice compelled him to just keep his mouth shut and obey. _God damn conditioning…_

* * *

><p>The kid was strange, there was no doubt about that. He acted more like a skittish animal than a human being. Dante found that he had to be a little assertive with him to get any kind of response out of him. He wasn't sure what the kid could have possibly done to get kicked out of his home in the middle of winter, but he was sure it couldn't have been <em>that <em>serious. No one deserved that kind of treatment.

"Why'd you get kicked out?" Dante asked, leading the kid into his room just to get him a change of clothes.

Nero almost skidded to a halt in the doorway once he saw it was a bedroom, lowering his head as he reluctantly shuffled into the room.

"I, uh, I was bad?" he muttered and Dante had to think about what he said for a moment before he actually understood the words. _Mumbling_.

"Bad, huh? You're not a drug addict are you? Cause I don't tolerate that shit," Dante hedged, reaching into his closet to find something for him to wear.

Nero shook his head lightly, wrapping his arms around himself in what looked like an attempt to take up as little space as possible. Dante couldn't help but shake his head, figuring it was better to not ask questions. He had the feeling that the kid was more likely to have some kind of breakdown before he got any _real _answers out of him anyway. He was already trembling again despite the fact that Dante knew he couldn't be cold anymore. After digging out an old pair of black jeans and an old gray t-shirt, Dante held the clothes out for him to take while he moved to the dresser to find the kid some underwear.

"Alright, bathrooms right down here," he sighed, dropping the newest pair of boxers he could find onto the pile in Nero's arms and lead him back out of the bedroom and down the hall.

It was a little more than awkward as Dante reached around the door to click on the light and indicated for Nero to go ahead. The teen just stood there in the hallway, staring at him with a blank expression as if he didn't quite understand what he was suppose to do. It slowly began to dawn on him that if the kid was an orphan, he had probably been bounced around to so many different foster homes that he never got to be comfortable around anyone. And if any number of the foster parents had been anything like Dante's, you didn't do _anything _without permission unless you wanted a good beating.

"Go on Kid. Get undressed and get in the shower. I'm not doin' it for ya," Dante snapped, jerking his thumb toward the shower again to show that it was alright.

What happened next was something he hadn't been at all prepared for. Nero stepped into the bathroom, sitting his borrowed clothes on the sink and _immediately _started striping. At first, Dante thought to turn away, but as the kid slowly pulled off his long denim jacket revealing the sleeveless red hoody underneath, he froze. Nero's eyes remained on the tile floor as he reached up to unzip the hoody slowly. Dante couldn't help but gawk at him in shock. His arms were covered in thin red lines, raised little welts like he had been beaten with a very thin switch.

It wasn't until the teen started to shrug off his hoody that Dante's eyes made it past his arms to the kid's _neck_. There, as plain as day, was a thick white leather collar strapped so tightly around his neck that it had cut into his skin enough to make him _bleed_. How could he have missed that when he first brought him home? It sure as hell explained a lot about the kid's temperament. He'd been beaten his entire life!

"Kid, what is all _that?_"he gasped, stepping into the bathroom without a second thought.

His hand reached out on it's own, reaching for Nero in some kind of motion to comfort him, but he suddenly lurched back away from Dante so forcefully that his shoulder slammed into the towel rack causing him to yelp. Dante froze in place, gawking at the teen as he desperately tried to find a position between the towel rack and the hand hovering in front of him that wouldn't cause him pain. He had clenched his eye's shut, tears welling up past his long eye lashes from the blow to his shoulder blade. Dante faltered for a brief second before he reached out and grabbed Nero by his shoulders to steady him, hating the way he choked back a sob from the contact.

"Hey, I am _not _going to hurt you. Look at me," he snapped, holding him gently at arms length to make a point. "Kid, _look _at me."

Nero's eyes slowly crept open, peeking up at him, tears clinging to his eyelashes like the snowflakes falling outside. The fear in them was unmistakable and it made Dante's heart constrict in a painful way.

"Did your foster parents do this to you? The ones that kicked you out?" he asked, trying to get a better look at the collar around his pale neck.

Nero shook his head gently, keeping his chin tucked down to try and hide himself as much as possible from Dante's gaze.

"Then who? Answer me," he snapped, quickly losing his patience.

"I told you," Nero choked, sniffling lightly. "I got kicked out for being b-bad. For disobeying my…_m-master_."

Very slowly the words sank into Dante's brain with a little more weight than he thought possible. A collar, cuts and welts covering his arms and probably the rest of his body, his _temperament_. Being thrown out into the bitter December weather with no remorse. This kid hadn't been tossed around foster homes and abused, he was someone's _pet_. Dante quickly dropped his hands from the teen's shoulders and took a step back toward the hallway blindly.

"Sit your clothes in the hallway and I'll get them in the washer. Take as long as you need in the shower and I'll see you downstairs, alright?" he mumbled, taking another blind step back out of the bathroom.

"I can go-"

"Just do it. Don't argue. You're good at taking orders, right?"

Nero nodded just once, hugging himself gently with his hoody still hanging halfway off as Dante pulled the door closed. For a moment he just stood there staring at the handle in disbelief. Leaning against the wall opposite the door, he covered his mouth with his left hand, trying to come to terms with he had just seen. He'd heard of the entire S&M empire, he'd been around the block enough times to know exactly what it entailed. But he had _never _seen anything like that. It was almost as if it had crossed the line of consensual into just plain abuse.

Hearing the bathroom door crack open he glanced up just in time to see a flash of Nero's stormy eyes and a pale hand dropping his clothes into the hall before the door snapped shut again. He waited until he heard the shower cut on before he leaned down to scoop up the damp clothes off of the floor and shuffled toward the stairs headed for the laundry room. What had started out as a normal day had taken one _fucked _up turn.

* * *

><p>He felt embarrassed. <em>Ashamed<em>. He'd been through enough humiliation in his life for it not to bother him anymore, but there had been something in Dante's eyes when he realized exactly where he had come from that made him feel sick to his stomach. Fear crept up in his throat at the thought of Dante kicking him right back out into the cold as soon as he left the bathroom. He was probably disgusted by him and he had every right to be. Hell, Nero was disgusted with _himself_. He wasn't sure how he had let things get so out of hand, but it was like he couldn't turn himself back around again.

Sticking a hand past the shower curtain, he groped around in the air until he felt the water hitting his fingertips. It was blissfully warm and made him feel hesitant about getting in. At home he hadn't been allowed to take warm showers and would certainly never be allowed to take as long as he wanted. But Dante had _insisted_. Taking a deep breath he peeled the shower curtain back just far enough to step in, keeping himself pressed against the cold tile along the back of the shower. It took him a moment to weigh his options before he could get his limbs to move forward into the water.

If he went back downstairs without taking a shower, there was no telling what Dante would do to him. He'd said that he wasn't going to hurt him, but it hadn't been the first time he had heard _that _line. His master had often said that they weren't going to hurt him, just to turn around and do exactly the opposite. He wanted to believe Dante wouldn't hurt him, but then again, that had gotten him into trouble in the past. Absently, he reached up to brush his fingers over the tight collar around his neck, hissing when he touched a particularly tender spot. Yeah, it had gotten him into a _lot _of trouble.

The warm water was like pure heaven. Nero found himself clawing at the cold water handle to turn it farther down, gasping when the warm water spiked to almost burning. He could feel the tension flooding out of his limbs, forcing him to brace himself on the wall to keep from collapsing. For a long while he just stood there under the hot spray, just basking in the euphoria of it all. He _remembered _hot showers like these. Remembered a time when his entire existence hadn't been so fucked up.

A sudden thud on the other side of wall jerked him out of his memories, causing him to panic for a brief moment before he recalled Dante's orders. _Take as long as you need… _Well he certainly wasn't going to push the limitations of that very far if he could help it. Taking a quick glance around the shower, Nero spotted a single black bottle of soap sitting next to a dark maroon looking pouf. The label on the bottle stated it was a shampoo, conditioner and body wash all in one. It was nothing like he had ever seen before, but then again Dante did seem like a fairly simple man. By passing the pouf, Nero grabbed the bottle and squeezed a small amount into the palm of his hand to sniff it. It was the exact same manly scent from the blankets downstairs. _Dante's _scent.

It took him a moment to realize the warm feeling that spread across his cheeks wasn't from the shower. He was _blushing_. Shaking his head roughly he squeezed more of the soap into his hand and started with his hair. He couldn't stop the thoughts running through his mind as he scrubbed his hair, moving down his bruise and cut covered body gently. The soap burned the more recent wounds, but the pain hardly registered in his mind, drowned out by Dante's commanding voice. _Just do it. Don't argue. You're good at taking orders, right?_ A strange shudder tore through his body as he ran a soapy hand over his stomach, an all too familiar heat flaring up, causing him to glance down at his naked body in shock.

At first he was just plain confused. Why would a strange _man _ordering him around cause _that _kind of reaction? But there was no denying what he was looking at, no mistaking the way his hand twitched, trying to reach out and grasp the throbbing erection to relieve himself. Without even realizing it he allowed his hand to drift down past his waist line, long pale fingers wrapping around the base of his manhood. A shaky breath escaped his lungs as he slowly pulled his hand up his length, tightening his grip as he reached the tip, only to run his hand back down to the base again in a swift motion.

"Ah!"

A deep groan escaped him as he continued to stroke himself, leaning against the back of the shower for support. It was in that instant when he heard his own voice echo in his ears that he remembered what he was doing and immediately ripped his hand away from his member. He was _never _allowed to do that without permission! If his master ever caught him, it would mean a severe punishment would follow. Just the thought of it brought the teen to tears, sinking down into the tub in a useless heap.

He couldn't even bring himself to get back up to wash all the soap off of his body, afraid that he might not be able to resist touching himself again. Instead, he shifted in the bottom of the tub to where the water hit every inch of his body and just lay there until the water turned ice cold. Once he was sure he had calmed down enough, he reached up to turn the water off and clawed his way out of the tub. There was a maroon towel hanging on the towel rack he had slammed into that matched the pouf in the shower. _Man really like's his red… _Fighting with his body again, he pulled the towel off of the rack and began to dry his chilled skin quickly.

As he pulled on his borrowed clothes, Nero couldn't help but notice how the black boxers and jeans nearly slid right off of his narrow hips. He couldn't remember ever being that skinny, but then again it had been a long time since he could just stand there and study himself. His hip bones stuck out much farther than he knew they should, his stomach so flat it was practically concave. Even his damn collarbone was pretty much jutting out past his chest under the old gray t-shirt. If Dante had believed him about not being a drug addict before, _this _would certainly change his mind.

After ruffling his hair with the towel a few more times, he folded it neatly and reached out for the doorknob. Part of his brain kept imagining Dante waiting right outside the door for him, ready to beat what little life he had left in him out, but as he pulled the door open he was faced with nothing but an empty hallway. Maybe, just _maybe _things wouldn't be as bad as all that with Dante. Maybe…


	2. Ground Rules

"No, that's what I said…a _collar_," Dante sighed quietly, trying to get his point across without yelling it into the phone just in case Nero was listening somewhere close by.

"Like off a shirt?" the woman on the other end of the line hissed, her patience wearing thin, which never took long when it came to him.

"No! Like the kind you put on a damn _dog_, Lady. He's all cut up and shit…I dunno what to do with 'im."

"Oh, I don't know, take him to the _hospital_, Dante? There's a good place to start."

"With what money?"

There was a moment of silence over the phone, Dante twirling the phone cord around his finger slowly, watching the stairs like a hawk for any sign of the kid.

"Good point," she sighed finally. "You owe me way too much and never work."

"Look, can you just try to make it over here in the morning? I'll figure something out for now."

"Whatever. But if my shoes get ruined in this snow, don't think I won't be tacking them on to your debt."

A soft creaking noise caught Dante's attention, causing him to sit up straight at his desk, watching as the door on the landing peeled open slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bye," he mumbled, hanging up the phone before Lady could respond.

He kept his icy eyes glued on the open doorway, watching as Nero slowly slipped out onto the landing with the towel from the bathroom folded in his arms. For a moment Dante thought to ask him what the hell he was doing until he saw the kid slowly slink down the stairs, glancing over at him with every step as if he were unsure if he was allowed to move. Whatever it was that had happened to the boy, screwed him up _bad_.

"Hey, you feel better now that you've had a bath?" Dante chuckled, flashing the kid a bright smile to try and reassure him.

But as soon as he stepped off the last step, catching Dante's smile, he instantly dropped his eyes to the floor and held the towel out in front of himself like an offering.

"I didn't know what to do with it," he apologized, keeping his head down as he mumbled.

"It's just a towel kid, you could have left it in the bathroom. I wouldn't have cared."

Nero immediately turned to head right back up the stairs and Dante nearly lurched up out of his chair holding out his hand to stop him. _Damn kid takes things too literally…_

"No, not now! Look, just sit down on the damn couch, ok?" Dante snapped, trying his best not to sound too irritated.

He watched as the kid froze, eyes wide as he slowly rounded the end of the couch and flopped down next to all the disheveled blankets. He was going to have to take this _slow_, which was a problem considering he didn't have the patience to fix a broken appliance. Let alone a broken human being. Sighing softly, Dante moved around the front of his desk, walking over to the pool table just inches away from the teen and picked up the pair of socks he had brought down after Nero got in the shower. When he turned to offer them to him, he could see how he had scrunched up on the couch, cowering as if he were expecting the beating of his life.

"Hey, they're just socks. It's cold as hell out there and this room doesn't stay all that warm. Don't want you to get frost bite, huh?" Dante muttered, shaking the socks at Nero until he looked up at him timidly.

Still hugging the towel in one arm, Nero reached out with the other hand to grab the socks, trembling like a leaf. It was just down right _pathetic_. Dante wondered how hard it was going to be to break him of his submissive behavior, thinking back to how the kid had yelled his name across the room after he first woke up. That was the closest thing to human behavior he'd seen out of the teen yet. There had to be more of _that _kid buried under all of the shaking, cowering and cuts. He just had to drag it out of him. _Somehow_.

"Alright, look…we're gonna have to lay down some ground rules-" Dante sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he watched Nero lean down to pull the socks on his feet. He was still wearing the damn _collar!_ "Why didn't you take that thing off?"

Without thinking again, he reached down to try and touch the collar, only to have Nero jerk away from him again. The kid's hands shot up to wrap around his neck, almost as if he were somehow protecting the collar. Time seemed to stand still as they sat completely still, staring at one another. Nero's eyes were wide with fear while Dante just frowned down at him in confusion. How could anyone want to protect something that had to be causing them pain? It just didn't make any fucking sense.

"I'm not _allowed _to take it off," Nero whispered, reading the confusion in Dante's eyes.

"Says who?" Dante demanded.

"My Master-"

"Fuck that. Your _Master _tossed you out on your ass."

Nero frowned slightly, his eyes turning glassy and for a moment Dante thought he was going to start crying again. He didn't care what it took, he was taking that rancid ass collar _off_.

"Don't move from that spot. I'll be right back," he commanded, storming across the room through the door behind his desk that lead into the kitchen combination laundry room.

The washer had already finished it's cycle, but he was afraid the sooner he dried the kid's clothes, the sooner he would try to leave. If he hadn't already. Muttering nonsense under his breath about the piece of shit human being that could do such a thing to another person, he reached up over the top of the washer to pull his first aid kit down off of the shelf. He'd never had a need for it personally, but it was always good to have in case of emergencies. It was surprising to say the least when he made it back out into the main room to find Nero hadn't moved an _inch_. His hands were still wrapped around his neck for crying out loud.

Scoffing lightly, Dante marched back over to the couch, pulling the coffee table down in front of Nero and sat down on it. Nero eyed him carefully, glancing from the first aid kit to Dante's scowl then back to the floor. Dante wasted no time popping the lid off the box, pulling out a bottle of peroxide, several rolls of bandages and a bag of cotton swabs. He could see Nero shifting nervously on the couch, probably contemplating running again, but he never got up. Once he sat the half empty kit on the floor, Dante shifted on the table to where the kid's legs were between his, prepared to pin him there if he needed to.

"Now, I am only going to ask you this once," he sighed, praying the kid wouldn't resist him. "_Please_, let me take that thing off?"

There was no denying that Nero was fighting an inner war with himself over the whole collar issue. Dante just couldn't tell if it was because he didn't want to take it off, or because Dante had asked his permission. The teen's eyes rolled around the room to anything other than Dante himself, shifting uncomfortably between his legs as if he were trying his damnedest not to touch him.

"A-Are you going to take it off anyway?" Nero stammered, finally settling his eyes on his knees. "If I say no?"

Sighing in defeat, Dante reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. This kid was going to be way more trouble than the good karma was worth. But maybe all he needed was a little reassurance, to know that his wishes _mattered_.

"No, I will not take it off if you say no," he insisted, hating that he knew the kid was going to tell him no.

A weird sort of spasm shot through Nero's body and for a moment Dante considered backing off. The last thing he wanted was for Nero to start swinging. A fist fight wouldn't get them anywhere. Nero's eyes suddenly jumped up to his, eyebrows knotted together in fear, but ever so slowly he started to lower his hands away from his neck.

"Is that…a _yes?_"Dante asked, tilting his head in slight disbelief. He'd expected the kid to put up more of a fight.

Nero nodded his head once and Dante didn't miss a beat, starting his work quickly just in case the teen changed his mind. Reaching out slowly, he gripped Nero by the chin gently, tilting his head up to study the collar better. From what he could see, the damn thing had only one hole used to fasten the buckle, unlike other collars that were normally adjustable.

"Where are the other holes?" Dante asked, seeing the frayed edged of the leather.

"My Master cut them off so that I couldn't loosen it."

Shaking his head he let go of the teen's chin, grasping the buckle gently. He could tell by the irritated skin that it wasn't going to be a pleasant task to remove it, but it had to be done. He could feel Nero jerk under his hands as he struggled to undo the buckle without hurting him too badly, but it was so tight that he had to nearly strangle the poor kid to get the buckle undone.

"Sorry," he muttered when Nero hissed as he started to pull the leather away from his neck.

Nero's hands lurched up to try and stop him, causing Dante to just pull it off quickly, like a Band-Aid. The teen clenched his eyes shut, his mouth opening as if he were going to cry out, but he held it back. Dante sat back, holding the collar in one hand, waiting for whatever outburst he might have to the pain. He could see several spots where scabs had ripped free, blood trickling down the skin that was unbelievably a shade lighter than his already pale skin. Nero took slow deep breaths, his eyes creeping open slowly to peer at him.

"Worst part's over, alright? Let's get you cleaned up…"

* * *

><p>Dante was strange. He had a weird kindness to him that Nero just didn't know how to respond to. Kind, yet mean all at the same time. He didn't understand why the man wanted to help him in the first place, but he had very valid points. Why hadn't he just taken the collar off? His Master had tossed him out, discarded him like a piece of trash. So what was the point in keeping the collar on? It hurt and there were times when he turned his head a certain way that he felt like it was choking him. But more importantly than all that…Dante had <em>asked <em>him if he could remove it. Asked, not told.

That alone had struck a nerve somewhere inside of Nero's brain to just go ahead and let Dante help him. The strange man had already proven that he wasn't out to hurt him, even though he did seem to have very little patience with his timid behavior. And even though he seemed impatient, he was really quite gently. Right up until the point where he ripped the collar the rest of the way off of his tender neck. It was probably for the best though, the sharp sting had already begun to fade into a dull ache.

"Hey, kid, you listenin' to me?" Dante whistled, snapping his fingers in front of Nero's face.

"I'm sorry," he gasped, jerking slightly when he realized he'd spaced out.

"I said, tilt your head up so I can wipe off the blood…" he groaned, tipping the brown bottle in his hand over onto a glob of cotton swabs and Nero hesitantly obeyed. "Now, where was I before this whole collar business?"

It took Nero a moment to think back to what Dante had been saying before he noticed he was _still _wearing the stupid collar. Something about socks, the room being cold, frost bite and…

"Ground rules?" Nero mumbled, feeling the cold cotton swabs dabbing at his tender neck. Amazingly it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would.

"Right, ground rules," Dante said as if he suddenly remembered his train of thought from earlier. "I don't mind if you stay here. Actually, I think it would be best for you to stay here after this shit, but I gotta lay down some rules. You cool with that?"

And again with the asking. Nero wasn't sure if he should be extremely afraid, or excited that Dante was being so kind. There was a strange sense of giddiness that welled up in the pit of his stomach and he could only pray it didn't register on his face when he nodded in agreement. Nodding was easier than speaking because he'd learned the hard way, speaking usually got you slapped.

"First rule, you're a person, _not _an animal. So you better start acting like one. Second rule, you got something to say, just say it. I'm not a damn mind reader," he sighed, dropping the glob of bloody cotton swabs on the table next to his discarded collar and grabbed more. "Third rule, I'm not going to push you around like some kind of slave. You got that?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Good. Also, I don't know what you've been through, but from what I saw up there it must have been pretty bad. Did your, uh, 'Master' make you ask before you could do things? Like eat, go to the bathroom, that kinda shit?"

Another bout of embarrassment struck him when he saw the worried look on Dante's face. He couldn't help but feel completely stupid for letting someone control him so much, but at the time he had convinced himself it was for _love_. Oh how wrong he had been.

"I…had to ask. Yes," he mumbled, turning his head slightly so Dante could see the other side of his neck.

"Well, not here. Just go, for cryin' out loud. I don't care of you say you're going, but don't expect me to tell you it's ok."

"Alright…"

Dante nodded lightly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as if he were actually pleased with Nero's responses. It was a strange contrast to what he was use to. Normally, smiles meant he was in pain or about to be. But his neck felt a million times better than it had in a _long _time, even as Dante wrapped the bandages snugly around the cuts. If he didn't know any better, he'd have thought he was dreaming.

"Alright, that's that. Not too bad, huh?" Dante chuckled, sitting back to admire his work.

"Itches…" Nero muttered, reaching up to scratch at the bandages.

There was a sudden clamoring noise as Dante flailed on the table, a warm hand wrapping around Nero's wrist to stop him. He couldn't hold back the yelp that escaped his throat, instinct kicking in as Dante jerked his hand back away from his bandaged neck without enough force to hurt his wrist.

"Don't scratch at it! You'll only make it worse," he snapped, glaring down at him as Nero sank back onto the cushions.

Heat flooded his body again and he knew there was no stopping the blush that bloomed over his cheeks. It wasn't fair that his body just reacted without his permission, but there was just something in Dante's voice that rattled his nerves. The way his grip was gentle yet firm all at the same time. It was the sort of thing he had liked about his demolished relationship. Until it spun out of control. And whether he liked the idea or not, his body wasn't at all offended by the fact that not only was Dante _not _his Master, but that he was _man_. He just hoped that Dante was kind enough not to beat the living shit out of him for getting weird boners.

A long moment silence stretched out between them as Dante's hand slowly pulled back away from his wrist. Nero found himself peeking at him, afraid that he might notice the awkward tent pitched in his borrowed jeans if he moved the wrong way. Thankfully, he still had a death grip on the maroon towel that was blocking the view for the most part. But there was no telling how long that would last. What if Dante took the towel from him? How was he suppose to explain himself?

"How about we just, go to bed? It's late and I really didn't get much sleep worrying if you were gonna die on my couch. We can work out more of the details tomorrow, OK?" Dante sighed, scooting back on the table to give Nero some space.

"OK. That sounds good," he mumbled, clinging to the towel for dear life, praying Dante would let him keep it for a little longer.

Dante nodded once, scooping up his collar and the bloody cotton swabs, standing up from the coffee table. While part of him was a little sad to see him walking away with his collar, he was thankful that he didn't seem at all interested in the towel. He watched carefully as Dante vanished into the room behind his desk, giving Nero the opportunity to bury himself under the layered blankets on the couch, pleading with his body to cooperate. It wasn't until he heard the distant sound of the dryer clunking to life that Dante finally emerged from the room, making a pit stop at his desk before he headed toward the stairs.

"Your clothes are in the dryer," Dante muttered walking past the end of the couch. "And kid?"

Nero flinched slightly, peeking over the back of the couch to see Dante standing on the bottom step. The look in his pale eyes was hard to place, but Nero decided to just label it: concern. He looked concerned about something and Nero had a good feeling he knew what it was.

"Y-Yes?" he asked, preparing for the worst.

"Don't take off in the middle of the night, got it? I don't feel like chasing after you in the snow. No one's gonna beat you here…"

Nero shrank down to be eye level with the couch, feeling stupid. He had expected Dante to tell him not to steal any of his stuff, but he seemed more worried about him sneaking out into the night. Amazingly, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Even with the awkward wood, he didn't want to go anywhere after Dante had welcomed him into his home like a _real _person.

"I won't," he whispered, trying to hold back the small smile that threatened to break free.

He didn't want to get his hopes up, but for the time being he didn't mind just going along with whatever Dante said. He was the first person Nero had met in a _long _time that actually made sense when they spoke.

"Right, well…g'night," Dante said with a small wave, pulling himself up the stairs and vanished into the hallway.

"Good night…"

* * *

><p><em> Weird<em>. It was just too fucking weird! Keeping a person as a pet was just too messed up to even comprehend. Especially if all you were going to was _beat _them. The kid seemed nice enough, so what had he done to deserve that kind of treatment? It just wasn't right…

Dante closed himself in his bedroom, staring at the floor with his hands in his pockets, trying to make sense of the whole crazy mess. Trying to understand why he felt the need to help him so much. Why he found the teen unbelievably _adorable_. It was just beyond him. Sighing, he pulled his hands out of his pockets, peering at the shiny blue and red tags in his left hand. The tags he had found in the washer with the kid's clothes. ID tags.

Flopping down on the end of the bed, Dante turned the tags over in his hand, reading the engravings under his breath. There was Nero's name stamped on the blue tag. The red tag had an address stamped into it with a notice to return him to the address below if found. Like he really _was _a lost dog. It would certainly be a cold day in hell before he _ever _returned Nero to a place where he was abused like that. Being dominating in the bedroom was one thing, this was just sick. But at the very least, he had someone to blame. Someone to hold accountable.

Sleep wasn't exactly the easiest thing to obtain, which he found odd. Normally he was out like a light, exhausted due to sheer boredom, but he just couldn't seem to stay asleep for some reason. He kept tossing and turning, listening desperately for any strange noises from downstairs. The walls were paper thin, he was sure if the kid tried to sneak out he would hear the old rusty doors opening. Laying there watching the seconds tick past on his alarm clock, he decided it was best to give up the fight and just nap later like he usually did. For now, a shower was in order…

After digging a clean towel out of the laundry basket in his room that he kept 'meaning' to fold, he marched down the hallway to the landing to check on his new roommate first. He could see Nero still curled up on the couch, his shaggy hair peeking out over the arm in about a million different ways. Content that the kid wasn't going anywhere he continued with his shower, probably rushing a little just to get downstairs faster. Lady would be sure to turn up soon and the last thing he needed was her to spook the poor kid by yelling at him. She would no doubt see Nero's hair and think that it was _him _sleeping in like usual.

By the time he had pulled on a pair of red jeans, running the towel over his hair just once, he could already hear the distant sound of someone banging on the front door. Without even bothering to grab a shirt he flew down the hall, taking the stairs two at a time to get to the door as fast as possible. He was amazed to see Nero hadn't budged in the slightest as he zoomed past the couch and ripped the door open. The short woman standing in front of the door blinked her two-toned eyes several times, her gloved hand hovering in the air where the door would have been. The fact that she was dressed like an Eskimo would have normally made him laugh, but it _was _freezing.

"Wow, only seven bangs? You were…awake?" she muttered, stepping into the office, clutching a drink carrier with three cups of coffee in it and a small box balancing on top.

"Was getting dressed. Didn't sleep so well on the account of the kid…" he sighed, closing the door quickly to preserve what little heat there was in the lofty room. "Don't wake him up. I got a good feeling he doesn't get much sleep…"

Reaching out he took the coffee and small box away from her, watching as she pulled off the fur lined hood of her black coat, ruffling her short pixie cut black hair. She scanned the room quickly, stopping when she spotted the sleeping teenager on the couch and wrinkled her nose like she was disappointed or something.

"_That's _him? He doesn't look like a kid Dante, I thought you found like an eight year old!" she sighed, peeling her coat off to reveal a _very _tight fitted white shirt.

"I said I found a teenager-"

"You said _kid. _Why is he sleeping with a towel?"

Hiking his eyebrows up, he leaned around her frame, glancing over at the couch to see that Nero had the maroon towel wrapped around his shoulders like an extra blanket. Like he didn't have three others piled on top of him. Dante couldn't help but smirk at the sight, the kid was just too damn cute for his own good!

"I 'unno, maybe he was cold?" he shrugged, marching over to his desk to sit the carrier down. "One of these for me?"

"And him. Brought donuts too because I figured you would have anything to feed him. Added it onto your debt, by the way," she huffed, dropping her jacket onto the pool table, inching closer to the couch to get a better look at the sleeping teen.

"You're such a sweetheart, Lady. Really, you shouldn't have…" he groaned, wiggling one of the cups out of it's holder and popped the cap off. Coffee usually wasn't his thing, but he could definitely use the caffeine.

"Did you figure out how old he actually is? If he's a minor, you're going to have to take him to the station."

"He says he's nineteen. When I washed his clothes I didn't find a wallet, but-"

He had turned his back to Lady and the couch, preparing to open the box of donuts when a sudden bang caused him to jerk back around. Lady had stumbled back into the pool table due to the fact that Nero had apparently leapt over the back of the couch. All Dante could see was a trail of blankets leading over the top of the couch and a tuft of white hair sticking up from behind the cushions. He obviously wasn't a fan of being watched while he slept and Dante really couldn't blame him.

"Whoa, hey there kid, calm down," he groaned, stepping closer to the couch when Nero poked his head up farther to peer at him. "This is Lady, she's a friend of mine. Just stopped by to bring us coffee and donuts. You hungry?"

The word 'donuts' seemed to catch the teen's interest. His eyes flickering between Lady and Dante trying to decided which was the safer route. He slowly stood up behind the couch, his chest heaving with every breath he took, nodding to Dante as he slowly inched around the couch closer to his desk. It was good to know he at least had an appetite. Dante reached behind him blindly, pulling the box off of the desk to offer it to the teen as he got closer.

"You like coffee?" he asked, pushing the box into the kid's hand when he hesitated to just take it.

"I don't know…" he whispered, keeping his head down.

"What do you mean you don't know? You've never had it?"

Nero shook his head no, eyes darting across the room to Lady who was watching them interact with a blank face. Dante was certain that coffee was a fairly common thing, but then again, there were people who wouldn't go near it.

"Tell you what, how about you take this up to my room and relax for a bit while Lady and I talk work. It's boring stuff really…" he chuckled, shoving his open coffee into Nero's other hand. "That's hot, be careful."

"Are you…sure?" he whispered again, peeking up at him.

"Yeah, go ahead. Eat as many as you want."

He had to wave his hand several times to get the kid to budge, Lady frowning over at Dante as Nero vanished upstairs with the entire box of donuts and his coffee.

"What?" Dante muttered, turning back to the other coffees once Nero was out of earshot.

"Some of those donuts were mine, you know," she hissed quietly, marching over to his desk to collect her own coffee.

"I'm sorry, were we looking at the same kid-"

"He's not a _kid_, Dante. You're not much older than he is."

"Not the point. Listen, he's practically a damn skeleton. Let him eat the donuts. It's not like _you _need them anyway…"

A swift slap hit the middle of his back, causing him to hiss in pain due to the fact that his skin was still damp from the shower. He knew that he shouldn't have said it out loud, but there was no taking it back now. Rounding his desk, he flopped down in his chair, pulling the top drawer open to reveal the bloody collar he had pulled off Nero's neck the night before. Lady leaned over the desk, gawking at it in shock, almost as if she didn't quite believe he had been telling the truth.

"You were _serious? _Oh my God…" she gasped.

"Why would I make that shit up? And what's worse is I found these in the washer when I went to dry his clothes…"

He dug into his pockets, pulling the red and blue tags out and dropped them onto the desk top. Lady scooped them up gently, studying the engravings carefully.

"Nero, that's his name?" she asked, glancing back up at him.

"He said it was. Did you read the _other _one?"

"If lost please return to-are you serious? They put a _return _address on him? This place is in a pretty ritzy neighborhood, Dante…"

"You know how it is," Dante shrugged, but Lady just looked at him like he was inept. "Rich people are freaks. The way I see it is, I've got an address now. I can go over there and punch the sick bastard in the _face_. He's one fucked up man for doing that to a kid."

Lady frowned down at the tags, hopping up to sit on the end of his desk like a human paperweight. She didn't seem at all against the idea of him exacting vengeance on the kid's behalf, but he could tell by the look in her two-toned eyes that she was thinking _something _negative.

"What makes you so sure it was a man who did this to him?" she chirped, dropping the tags back into Dante's hand.

"Well, lets see, no girl could inflict _that _amount of damage to that boy and not have him resist. Plus, he's been acting a little weird around me…"

"A little weird? No, I would have never guessed…"

"I didn't mean like that. Last night while he was in the shower and I went to get him socks, I swore I heard him moaning through the wall. And then after I got the collar off of him and bandaged his neck, he went to scratch at it. I had to grab his hand to stop him and things got weird."

"Weird _how?_"

"He got all shy and was blushing. That towel he had wrapped around him, he was holding onto that for dear life in his lap. I'm pretty sure he had a boner."

Lady rolled her eyes, sliding down off the end of his desk and moved over to the couch where Nero had been laying.

"Seriously Dante, not _everyone _has a crush on you. The boy is someone's pet, he probably gets off on the pain. Not because he's attracted to _men_," she sighed, flopping down on the couch.

"No, I don't think he likes pain at all. I bet you he's just into guys."

"Never said he wasn't. But the question is…are _you _into him?"

The room fell silent and Dante found himself staring over at her, unable to find an answer right away. Was he into Nero? The kid was beyond cute and utterly hopeless, but that didn't mean that Dante liked him. At least, he was sure he didn't. Pretty sure…

"Nah, he's a guy. I'll pass…" Dante scoffed, leaning back in his chair.

"Do I need to remind you about all those college dorm parties? You didn't seem to mind guys or girls back then…" Lady smirked.

"Hey, just because I made out with a couple guys at a drunken party does _not _mean I'm gay."

"Whatever, look, what are you going to do with him then? Just keep him locked up here like they probably kept him locked up there?"

"No way, he's free to go if he wants! I just let him know he can crash here for as long as he wants. He doesn't seem like the really wants to leave though…"

"Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he just want's Big Daddy Dante to take care of him."

"Exactly, maybe he-wait…what?"

Lady chuckled softly, standing up from the couch to stretch. It was obvious she was preparing to leave, shuffling past the couch headed for her jacket on the pool table, but he couldn't let her leave yet. He knew that she wouldn't be happy, but he didn't have anyone else to ask that he actually trusted to be responsible.

"Lady, wait," he groaned, hating the begging that he knew was about to occur. "I need a favor."

She paused with her hand dangling over her jacket, peering over at him with one eyebrow hitched up over her blue eye in confusion.

"Don't you think you owe me enough as it is?" she huffed.

"Come on, I just need someone to sit here with him while I go check out this address."

"Sit with him? Like a babysitter? I thought you said he was free to go if he wanted to, why would he need a sitter?"

Sighing, he pushed himself up out of his chair and moved over to the pool table next to her, rolling the cue ball around on the felt. He could feel Lady's eyes on him, searching him for what he was getting at. He just didn't want to admit it out loud that he wasn't ready to let the kid go.

"I just want someone to be here with him so that he's not alone. Or in case he tried to hurt himself. There's no telling what's going through his brain right now, you know?" he mumbled under his breath.

"You really think he'll hurt himself after everything he's been through?"

"He's used to being ruled over. Now he has no Master, no real home…he's alone. Who knows what he'll do?"

Lady dropped her hand back down to her side, scowling at him as if he had insulted her somehow. Shaking her head lightly she marched back over to the couch, pushing the blankets aside to sit back down more comfortably.

"Just great. Now if I do leave and he ends up doing something stupid, _I'll _feel guilty. _Thanks_," she hissed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Is that a yes, you'll stay?" he asked, trying to be sure she wasn't just fucking with him.

"I'm charging you for my services. By the _hour_. Get up there and tell him you're leaving. And _if _there are any donuts left, I want one."

"Great, thanks. I promise it won't take me long to beat this guy's ass…"

Not wasting a single precious second, Dante rushed up the stairs, slowing to a walk as he approached his bedroom door and poked his head around the frame to keep from startling the kid.

"Nero?" he called softly, eyes falling on the most adorable sight he was sure he would ever see.

Nero was sitting in the middle of his bed with his legs crossed, a chocolate glazed donut perched in front of his chocolate smeared lips. Dante could see crumbs littering every surface of the bed possible, and while he knew he should have been angry about it, all he really wanted to do was tackle the teen and demand that he was just too damn cute!


	3. Belongings

He tried his best not to panic when he heard Dante's voice in the doorway, but it seemed it was just unavoidable. He had been so focused on the food in front of him that he hadn't even heard the man walking down the hall. He hadn't even realized he'd eaten over half the box by himself! Surely they wouldn't be happy about that.

"I'm sorry!" he immediately apologized, dropping the donut in his hands onto his lap.

Dante slowly stepped into the room, staring down at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. It was almost like Dante wasn't looking right at him, but _through _him. Nero watched the man carefully as his hands balled into fists at is sides, shaking slightly as if he were trying to hold back. This was it, he'd finally worn out his welcome.

"Sorry? For what?" Dante asked, blinking just once which seemed to snap him back into reality. His hands relaxed and he turned toward the closet door to rummage around. "I told you to eat as many as you wanted. There at least one left?"

Nero found himself having a difficult time pulling his eyes away from Dante's bare chest to check. The man was certainly very fit despite the simple lifestyle he seemed to lead. Nero couldn't remember seeing a single spec of fitness equipment in the run down office, but he apparently had it hidden somewhere with abs like _that_. Dropping his eyes down to the box he tried to occupy himself with something other than Dante to avoid being weird again. There were exactly two donuts left in the box, not including the discarded one in his lap, which he now had to salvage.

"Yes, there are two…" he mumbled, willing his eyes to stay glued on the shattered donut he was picking up from his borrowed jeans.

"Good, if Lady doesn't get one she might kill me…"

The bed shifted as he spoke, causing Nero to lurch, glancing at the end of the bed where Dante was now seated. With his back facing Nero, the only thing the teen could see were the little beads of water that rolled off the tips of his still wet hair, trailing down his spine as Dante leaned over to pull a pair of socks out of his dresser. It just wasn't _fair _how perfectly flawless the man's skin was. Nero would have killed to have a body like that, to have Dante's body…_close_.

"You hear me back there, kid?" Dante asked, looking back over his shoulder at him.

Nero's eyes jumped up to the man's face in panic, hoping that he hadn't caught him gawking at his back like the hormonal teenager that he was.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he gulped, feeling the heat spreading over his face like a beacon. Dante _had _to think he was just plain sick in the head.

"I said I need to go out for a while. I have a job to do. You think you'll be ok here with Lady for a little while?" he asked again, pulling the black shirt on that he'd grabbed from the closet.

The woman. He didn't want to be left alone with a stranger. Dante he knew was nice, but the woman he didn't know at all and quite frankly, he was terrified of her. When he had first opened his eye after the most peaceful nights rest he'd gotten in what felt like forever and saw _her_, he was sure his heart had stopped. That stern gaze of hers reminded him too much of what he had escape. Of _pain_. The only instinct he had was to flee and ended up nearly flipping the couch in the process.

"Come on, she's not _that _bad. You can hang out in here and I'm sure she won't even care to bother you," Dante chuckled, seeing the fear plastered on Nero's face.

He had a good feeling if he told Dante that he really didn't want to stay alone with her that he might get offended. The woman was probably his girlfriend. Despite how mean she looked, she _was _pretty. Nero forced himself to nod lightly, watching Dante closely as he stood up and pulled the donut box away from him.

"Didn't like the coffee?" he asked, pulling one of the donuts out of the box and wedged it between his pearly white teeth.

"It was bitter…" Nero muttered, reaching out to grab the cup off of the wobbly nightstand.

"Hey, if you don't like it, you don't have to drink it."

"No, it's not that," he lied, bringing the cup to his lips. It was given to him and he refused to let the precious gift go to waste. "It's different, that's all."

Dante smiled down at him, a warm and friendly gesture he never wanted to vanish. He would have given anything to stop time right where it was. Very slowly, Dante peeled his left hand off of the donut box and plopped it onto the top of Nero's head, causing him to snap his eyes shut in fear. Dante just chuckled, ruffling his hair a few time before the hand vanished and he could hear his footsteps moving away from the bed.

"I'll be back soon. I promise. Just relax until I get back and I'll order us a pizza."

The word pizza blind sided him for a moment, giving Dante the opportunity to slip out of the room before Nero could properly voice his concerns about being left alone with the mean looking woman. Scrambling off the end of the bed, Nero forgot all about the shattered donut on his lap, the coffee sloshing dangerously in the cup before he adjusted his grip, shoving his head out into the hallway to try and catch Dante before he left. But the snowy haired man was already gone, the hallway empty and the thought of being alone made Nero's heart sputter in his chest. He could hear the distant sounds of doors opening and closing, his heart sinking into his stomach when he heard the faint sound of shoes on the stairs. He kept trying to tell himself to just go back into Dante's room and lock himself inside, but he just stood there gripping the doorframe with his free hand until the woman appeared in the doorway at the end of the hall.

"Oh, Nero, was it?" she asked softly, her voice causing tremors in his legs. "Dante went out, he told you right?"

He only nodded in response, focusing very hard on not crushing the cup in his hand. He didn't know what he would do if she tried come any closer.

"Right, well that just leaves me and you here. You want to come down and play pool or something?" she asked, frowning at him.

He shook his head no just once, unable to force his voice out of his throat. Even at a distance he could see her weight shift from her left foot to her right as she prepared to take a step closer.

"Look, Nero, I'm not going to-"

Whatever she had said he never got to hear, jerking back into the bedroom the instant she lifted her foot. He ended up dropping the coffee cup onto Dante's bedroom floor, slamming the door shut, fumbling with the lock. For a while he just stood there, heart hammering into his ribs painfully, leaning against the door for extra protection as if the tiny framed woman was going to kick the door in at any moment.

"Ok! Well, if you change your mind, I'll be downstairs!" she shouted and Nero could make out the faint sound of her shoes on the stairs again.

Breathing a sigh of relief he turned around to survey the damage. There was a puddle of black coffee seeping into the floorboards, scattered donut pieces _all _over the bed. He'd been there for a day and was already making messes.

"Shit…" he sighed, digging into the clothes hamper in search of a towel. He _had _to clean it up before Dante came back.

* * *

><p>"Eleven-Seventeen, eleven-eighteen...ah! There it is!" Dante groaned, stopping on the cleanly shoveled sidewalk. "Eleven-nineteen, this is where the sick bastard lives?"<p>

When lady had said the address was in the ritzy neighborhood, he had no idea was that ritzy. He had to go through a gate to get in, thankfully the tags helped him get past the shit security guard. He was returning someone's property, instant pass. The man did glare at his leather jacket and worn boots, obviously not all that happy to let him through. But Dante really didn't give a damn, one way or another he was getting into the neighborhood. Even if he had to jump the damn fence.

Sighing sharply he gripped the tags in his half gloved hand, marching up the clean pavement up to the pristine white porch. The front door was a huge pane of stained glass, angels floating in the clouds. _What kind of bullshit is that? _The sight of it just helped fuel his anger even farther, reaching up to push the silver shiny doorbell with more force than he knew was needed. What if he wasn't home? What was he suppose to do then? He certainly couldn't hang around and wait for him to come home. There was just no way he could leave Nero alone with Lady for that long. The kid didn't seem all that thrilled about being left alone with her after she had freaked him out.

Growing impatient he started to reach for the doorbell again when he heard the door lock click open, the white door behind the stained glass panel creaking open and when the glass door swung out toward him his jaw almost hit the porch. It was a short young woman with wide brown eyes and reddish-brown hair. Certainly _not _what he had been expecting. Maybe he had the wrong house or she had a brother?

"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice light and airy. _It couldn't be, _could _it?_

"Possibly. This _is _eleven nineteen cross landing, isn't it?" he coughed, trying to hide his shock behind his 'professional' voice.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"I'm not sure yet, can you tell me if you recognize _these_?"

Holding out his hand to display the tags, Dante watched the woman's features carefully as her eyes fell on the trinkets. There was no mistaking the recognition in her eyes. She knew _exactly _what they were, _who _they belonged to. For a long moment she didn't respond, gripping the door tightly. It didn't look like she needed support, but more like she needed something to hold her back.

"Where…did you get those?" she asked quietly, eyes flickering up to his face.

"Miss, my name is Dante. I am a private detective, would you mind if I came inside and asked you a few questions about this?" he sighed, reaching into his jacket pocket to produce his business card which she gladly took. "S'kinda cold…"

"Certainly. I'm sorry, Mr. Dante, come in."

"Just Dante, please."

She nodded lightly, stepping back away from the door to allow him in. Thanks to the clear walkways he had no snow on his boots and barely bothered to wipe them on the rug inside the door as he followed her inside. As soon as he was clear of the door she snapped it shut, staring up at him as if she just realized how tall he was. Something she didn't seem at all pleased by. She gave him a meek little smile and ushered him farther into the house.

"Please, have a seat. Would you care for some hot tea? I was just about to put the kettle on…" she mumbled nervously, almost as if she were scared of him.

"Sure, that would be great…"

In all honesty he just wanted a chance to look around without her watching him like a hawk. The living room was pristine, white upholstered furniture with dark wood accents, a white marble fireplace with a mantle _covered _in pictures. _Pay dirt_. Stepping closer to the fireplace he pretended to warm his hands as he scanned the photos in search of Nero. She knew him, he had to be there _somewhere_. One photo stood out to him in particular, not because it was the largest, but because of the stern looking man in the photo standing next to the woman.

He could tell by the similarities in their hair and eye color that they were related. Too close in age to be father and daughter. _Brother_, just like he figured. The man certainly looked mean enough to beat someone, but the girl? Not a chance in hell. As he moved his eyes farther down the mantle in search of Nero, the man and woman seemed to shrink before him. Time literally reversing, taking him all the way back to their childhood. It was then, as he spotted the last photo on the mantle, when he finally spotted Nero. If he hadn't been paying attention he would have missed him, but as he studied the grand cathedral in the background to determine a location, he noticed the spec of white just enough to make him curious.

Wanting a better look, Dante scooped the photo up off of the mantle, surprised at how heavy the gold frame was. The woman and her brother were standing on what looked like the front lawn of the cathedral, the girl smiling softly as her brother remained scowling as if he wasn't exactly happy to have his picture taken. On the far left of the picture Dante could see the mop of white hair standing out against the lush green lawn as the kid's small body leaned into the frame to pick up a blue ball off the grass. He literally took up a sliver of the photo. He hadn't even been important enough back then to have a proper picture taken.

The distant sound of the kettle screeching hardly pulled his attention away from the picture, holding it firmly in his hands as he turned back around to see the rest of the room. Maybe they had pictures of the kid on the wall. Something more than a little sliver to tie him to the girl and her brother. But the only other decorations in the house were depictions of _angels_. Why was it _always _the religious types that had something disgusting to hide?

"Sorry for the wait," the woman sighed softly, shuffling back into the room with a tea tray.

Dante turned to glance at her after putting the photo back on the mantle, taking in her nervous smile and the way the china was clinking around on the tray. She was obviously not at all happy that he was there, but he just didn't give a shit. And he wasn't leaving until he found her piece of shit brother and made him pay for what he had done to Nero.

"S'all good, nice little place you've got here," he muttered, moving to sit on the love seat across from her as she sank into the lush white armchair. "That your brother up there in all those photos?"

"Yes, my brother Credo. My name is Kyrie, by the way."

"Kyrie and Credo. Odd kind of names…"

"We weren't born in this city. We came here from the island a few years ago."

"I see."

She nodded, an awkward sort of silence settling over the room as Kyrie leaned forward to pick up one of the tea cups.

"You said that you were a private detective? Am I…in some sort of trouble?" she asked quietly.

"Why would you be in trouble?"

"Those tags. Nero is missing," she said with a shaky sigh. "He ran off the night before last. I was afraid with it being so cold and the snow that something might have happened to him. He doesn't have anywhere to go…"

"I found him. On a park bench yesterday morning. Covered in snow."

"Did he…die?"

For some reason, the question set off a red flag in his brain. The tightness in her voice, the blank gaze she was giving him. He was missing something from the equation. If her brother had been beating and abusing Nero, certainly she should be fearful to give him any information. He figured it was best to spare her the details until he located her brother.

"I really can't say at this point. Actually, I was hoping to speak to your brother. Credo, was it?" he mumbled leaning forward to grab his tea just to humor her.

"My brother?" she asked, blinking at him as if he had asked for a mountain of gold or something else equally ridiculous. "I'm afraid that's impossible."

Dante blinked at her over the rim of his tea cup. She hadn't said that she didn't know where he was, or that he was just at work, or anything people _normally _said when they were hiding someone. She had said it was _impossible_.

"What do you mean by that?" he mumbled, watching her carefully as she dug into a box in the middle of the coffee table.

"You can't speak to Credo, because he is dead…" she whispered, passing him the newspaper clipping she'd pulled out of the box.

The article had a color photo of her brother in uniform, the headline reading : Decorated Officer Killed In The Line Of Duty. The man had been a police officer, killed in a shooting. Two _years _ago. The wounds on Nero's body were recent. Too recent to have been inflicted more than two _weeks _ago. That could only mean…

"You?" he gasped, glancing up at her in shock. "_You _are the one responsible for the way that kid is?"

The two of them sat there staring at each other in realization. Dante couldn't believe what he was seeing. This tiny, _meek _looking little _girl _had inflicted that much damage on Nero? He just couldn't accept it, couldn't understand how he had _let _her when he obviously wasn't a fan of pain. And her, she just _sat _there, staring at him blankly as if she didn't even care! It wasn't possible, it wasn't _human_.

"Nero and I have never had an easy relationship…" she admitted with a shrug.

"Easy? An _easy _relationship? Since when is slapping a collar on a human being and beating them senseless a relationship in the first place? He's afraid to _move _without someone's permission!"

"Everything we did was entirely consen-"

Dante slammed his hand down on the table roughly, sending one of the candles in the middle crashing to the floor with a loud thud. He assumed he would meet the man that had hurt Nero, kick his teeth in and return home feeling satisfied knowing the bastard would never hurt the kid again. But this! He couldn't hit a girl, no matter how badly he wanted to. Somehow that fact made it all the more worse. This little…_bitch, _was going to get away with it. She had probably instilled so much fear in Nero that he would never be able to press any kind of charges against her.

"You treated him like an animal! Worse, even. There is nothing consensual about that. Nothing. And then you just kicked him out in the middle of December with no where to go? Did you even go to look for him?" he snapped, dropping his cup back onto the tray without a care.

"It was _his _choice to leave. Judge me all you want, but it was something he wanted to begin with."

"I don't want to hear your lame ass excuses. You're a _monster _and he's _lucky _that he got away from you. If he has any belongings, which I somehow doubt, you might as well just give them to me now. He's not coming back here ever again if I can help it."

She just sat there, staring over at him blankly as if she had no intention of giving him anything that belonged to Nero. It really didn't matter if she handed over the kid's things, he still wasn't going to let Nero fall back into her sadistic care. Very slowly, he leaned forward on his knees, staring at her with a dark scowl.

"Look you evil cunt, one way or another, you will answer for what you did to him. I don't care what it takes. He's been abused, under fed, imprisoned? For how long? I don't care what you say, he could have _never _wanted any of that. So get your little prissy ass up and get me his things before I lose my patience and back hand you across this living room. I will not let you intimidate me."

It took her a moment of him glaring at her for her to realize that he was not the kind of person that would submit to anyone. She couldn't kick or beat him. She couldn't overpower him or fool him with her little concerned act. Very slowly she stood up from her seat and vanished down the hallway. It didn't take her long to return with a small pile of clothing in her arms, one pair of jeans and one old t-shirt. That was _it_.

Sitting the clothes down on the end of the love seat, Kyrie took a step back so that she was no where near him as he looked over the kid's belongings. There was an old faded wallet on top of the jeans, but Dante was sure it wouldn't have much in it either. He stood up with a sigh, grabbing Nero's things in one hand and glared down at the woman in pure fury.

"I didn't think that he would stay outside. Normally he just comes back in an hour or so…" she muttered quietly, twisting her hands together nervously.

"Guess he figured he was as good as dead either way. At least out there he wasn't getting beaten to death."

Without even bothering to wait for her to escort him out he turned toward the front door, pausing for a brief moment to give her one last look of disgust. He was determined to get more answers, just not from her. There was no way he could tolerate just sitting there across from her like a normal human being. She was anything but normal. He would have to hear the story from Nero. One way or another.

* * *

><p>Two piles of folded laundry, mostly towels and rags and a few pairs of shorts, though they looked like they'd never been work. All of the shirts and jeans easily fit into the closet on the few hangers that Dante <em>did <em>own. The bed was made, now void of crumbs. All that he was left with was an empty clothes basket and a coffee soaked towel. What was he supposed to do now? Nero sat on the end of the bed, staring at the locked door, waiting for Dante to come back. It hadn't seemed like such a bad way to pass the time until he realized an hour had already gone past and Dante still hadn't come home. He had said that he a job to do, meaning he wouldn't be back for at least eight hours, right? He'd never had a real job himself, but when his Master left for work that was usually how long he had the house to himself. Or rather his _room _to himself. He hadn't been allowed free reign of the house.

Usually he spent the time trying to sleep, only to keep waking himself up in fear every few moments. Eight hours took no time to pass when you didn't want time to move at all. But he was eager for Dante to come back, eager to not be alone with _her_. Not to mention Dante had promised him _pizza _when he returned. The fact that he'd already been given donuts meant the possibility of actually getting a slice of pizza was pretty good.

Glancing over at the alarm clock he was disappointed to find three minutes had passed since he last glanced at it. Dante was _never _going to make it home! There had to be a better way to pass the time, anything had to be better than sitting on the end of the man's bed staring at the door like a dog waiting for it's master to return. Dante had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't Nero's master. He was a human being and he needed to start acting like it.

Groaning softly, he forced himself up off the end of the bed and grabbed the clothes basket that he had dropped the wet towel into. Laundry was something normal people did, right? It was just a matter of getting past her. Unlocking the door as quietly as possible he stuck his head out into the hallway, searching for any sign of her. _All clear… _He took slow steps down the hall to keep from alerting her to his presence, past the bathroom door that was closed.

Thankfully the doorway at the end of the hall gave him a bird's eye view of the office below. The dark haired woman was no where to be seen there either, even though her jacket was still dangling off the side of the pool table. If she was in the bathroom he would only have a few moments before she came back. Heaving the basket down the stairs, Nero made a pit stop by the couch to scoop up the towel he'd used the night before into the basket and made a dash for the door behind Dante's desk, next to the wall of random weapons. He'd heard Dante turn on the dryer, meaning the washer had to be there too.

The door led him into a small dingy kitchen with one small stretch of counter space that was covered in old pizza boxes and an old sink. There was a stove on the opposite side of the room that he had a feeling Dante never used and a refrigerator that sounded like it was on it's last leg. At the very back of the room, in what like nothing more than a closet without doors, sat an old beat up washer and dryer set. The entire front of the washer looked like it had been kicked in several times and Nero wondered if Dante was to blame for that. He didn't seem to have much patience and Nero was sure kicking things was a good way to relieve frustration. He just hoped he wouldn't end up kicking _him _if he got too stressed out.

Nero wasted no time dumping the towels into the empty washer, adding a small scoop of the powdery detergent and set it for a short wash before he turned to flee back to his cave. Certainly that had taken up a fair amount of time. Stepping back out into the main room of the office he was pleased to find that the woman still hadn't returned and made another sprint for the stairs. He was halfway up the steps when he heard a soft gasp above him that made him freeze. It was too good to be true, he should have known he wouldn't be lucky enough not to run into her twice.

"Did you change your mind about that pool game?" she asked softly, staring down at him with her two-toned eyes.

He instantly took a step back down from the stairs, prepared to lock himself up in the kitchen if he had to. He was sure there would be plenty in there for him to clean until Dante made it back. The woman just took a step away from the door out onto the landing, waving him through with a small smile.

"Go on then, lock yourself back up in Dante's room until he gets back. But I really _won't _hurt you, you know?" she sighed, leaning on the railing with her back to him.

Watching her carefully, he pressed his back up against the wall, sliding up the remaining few stairs slowly. When she didn't even turn to look at him, he made a break for Dante's room, slamming the door shut and locked it again. Now that he was alone and safe again, the only thing he had left to do was flop down on the end of the bed, staring at the handle. Waiting for Dante to come home…


	4. The Right Way To Take Care Of Your Pet

"Fucking…_whore_!" Dante growled, plowing into the office with a scowl on his face.

Lady was sprawled out over the couch, her legs hanging over the arm. The sudden sound of the doors bursting open caused her to sit upright quickly, her hand perched over her heart. For a moment she just sat there, watching him march across the room to drop Nero's clothes and a warm pizza onto his desk. Normally pizza cheered him up, but not today. Not after what he had seen Nero's old house. _Bitch_.

"So, how did it go?" Lady asked once she had recovered from the scare.

"You're not going to _believe _what I found," he hissed, rounding his desk to collapse in his chair. "It was-"

"A woman?"

The two of them sat there staring at each other for a moment. Dante couldn't help but gawk at her, unsure of how she _always _seemed to know the answer to things before he did. It just wasn't fucking fair!

"How did you-" he gasped.

"Oh, I don't know, the moment you left he locked himself in your bedroom for an hour. Then when I went to the bathroom he snuck out to start the _washer _and when he ran into me on the stairs he started freaking out again. I didn't bother him Dante, he's still locked up in your room."

"What? What if hurts himself up there? Have you even gone to check on him!"

"Relax, he keeps marching around up there ever so often. I think he's pacing back and forth waiting for you to come back."

She pointed up toward the stairs where Dante could hear the distant sound of floor boards creaking. Shaking his head slowly, he reached out and snatched up the faded brown wallet off the pile of clothes and flipped it open. All that was inside was an expired ID with the kid's picture on it and one other picture of him, the girl and her brother. They were all huddled together outside the same church he saw in the photo at their house, _smiling_. It was obviously taken before the bitch went psycho.

"Well, what happened? What was she like?" Lady asked, making her way over to his desk.

"The house was neat, _pretty_. The girl was sickly sweet and fake. She said she had expected him to just come back. After she lied and said he ran off. Said they've never had an easy relationship. What kind of shit is that?" he scoffed, dropping the wallet onto the desktop.

"They must have loved each other at some point Dante. Or he would have never put up with that kind of treatment in the first place. Did she say _why_?"

"No, didn't really give her the chance to though. I just couldn't stand sitting there anymore, talking, like regular people! I figured I would just ask the kid…"

"You think that he'll talk about it? I mean he's obviously more than a little traumatized over it."

"He'll talk to me. I know he will…"

Lady sighed softly, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder. More like a slap, but still, it was the thought that mattered.

"I'm going to clear out then. He hasn't said a single word with me here, so I don't want to kill the mood," she chuckled, strolling back toward the pool table to pull her jacket back on. "And don't think that just because you have him to take of now that I'll forget about your debt. You have the money to buy pizza, you have the money to _pay _me."

"Cut me a break, Lady! People gotta eat, y'know!"

Her only response was a wave of her hand over her shoulder as she stepped out into the snow covered day. By the time Dante had made it back home, the sky had turned a dull gray as the clouds prepared to blanket the city in a fresh layer of snow. Sitting there at his desk he listened to the distant sound of Nero pacing around upstairs, wondering just how he was suppose to get the kid to talk without causing him to have an episode or some shit. The only thing he had to use was brute strength, which wouldn't help matters at all, or pizza. Bartering food for information seemed a little cruel, but it was worth a shot. He had to get answers somehow and he sure as hell wasn't sitting across from that evil bitch to get them. At least Nero was _cute_.

Standing up from his chair he scooped Nero's clothing and wallet off of the desk into the seat and pushed it up under the desk just to avoid the kid seeing it before he was ready. There was no denying that he felt a little nervous as he climbed the stairs heading for his bedroom. What if Lady was right again and Nero refused to talk to him? What if he sided with his 'master' and decided he wanted to go back home? What would he do then? It wasn't like could really _stop _him from going. Pausing outside of his door he took a deep breath, knocking on the wood gently.

"Kid? Hey, Nero…open the door, will ya?" he called, listening to the sudden clamoring sound on the other side of the door.

As soon as the door cracked open all Dante saw was a quick flash of blue eyes and snowy hair before Nero suddenly pushed past him. At first he just stood staring into his room for a moment, glancing down the hall just in time to see Nero vanish into the bathroom. Deciding it was best to just let him go, Dante stepped into his room, marveling at how _clean _it was. He was sure that when he had left there were clothes piled up in the basket, the bed was a complete mess with the addition of donut crumbs. He must have been bored out of his damn mind…

"Sorry," Nero muttered, poking his head back into the bedroom. Dante had been so amazed with the clean room that he hadn't even heard the toilet flush. "I cleaned because I made a mess."

"No big deal," he mumbled, sure that his bed had never been _that _neat. "I brought a pizza home. How about we go downstairs and have some lunch?"

The way Nero's eyes suddenly lit up made Dante feel slightly guilty for what he was about to put the kid through. There was no telling when the last time Nero had been _allowed _to have pizza, if ever. Something told him by the way he reacted to the donuts that he hadn't been given much allowance in the food department. Waving his hand he motioned for Nero to go on ahead of him and was surprised when he didn't hesitate. Food was definitely a good motivator.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Dante motioned for Nero to sit on the couch as he went to collect the pizza box from his desk. There was no mistaking the way Nero's eyes scanned the room, probably looking for Lady. Kicking off his boots at the end of the couch, Dante flopped down on the opposite end from Nero with a smirk. Flipping open the box on his lap he watched Nero's eyes widen to the size of saucers at the sight of the cheesy delicacy. Yes, food was the ultimate motivator.

"One extra large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese! Pretty awesome, huh?" he chuckled, watching Nero nod feverishly. "And I don't mind sharin' it with you. On one condition…"

The instant the word 'condition' was out of his mouth, Nero dropped his eyes to the floor, his hands gripping his knees tightly. He could tell by the way the kid was fidgeting that he was probably expecting the worst. Dante just wasn't sure exactly what the worst entailed.

"It's nothing serious, kid, calm down," Dante sighed, rolling his eyes. He knew that the kid had been beaten, but that was no reason to assume Dante was going to be just as cruel. "I just want you to talk to me."

"About…what?"

Nero's eyes shifted back up to his face, still a little fearful, but more curious than anything. Probably wondering what was so important that he needed to bribe him with food to get him to talk.

"About what happened to you before I found you. How you got this way," he clarified, picking up a slice of pizza and offered it to him.

"I…don't want to talk about that," Nero muttered, dropping his eyes to the floor again in an attempt to resist the pizza.

"You're gonna have to talk about it sooner or later, kid. I don't mind letting you stay here, feeding you and whatnot, but you gotta gimme some answers. Why would you _let _someone beat you like that? It couldn't have been enjoyable…"

"I didn't _let _anyone do anything to me."

"So you expect me to believe that tiny girl overpowered you? That's bullshit!"

"Tiny girl? I don't know what-"

"I found the tags in the washer, Nero. I went to your house, there's no sense in trying to hide it anymore."

Nero's eyes jumped back up to his face again. If Dante didn't know any better, Nero looked a little hurt by the fact that he had gone behind his back to investigate his life. He would have told him sooner, but he was sure the kid wouldn't be too fond of the idea of Dante going to beat his 'master's' face in. Not knowing before hand that it was a _girl_.

"Look, Nero, I'm gonna be honest with you," Dante muttered, shoving the pizza slice into Nero's hand before grabbing his own. "I went over there thinking it was some guy that had done all that to you. I was seriously going to beat his ass…until _she _answered the door. Just tell me the hell happened."

He could see Nero was having a hard time deciding on if he should just talk or stuff the pizza in his mouth to avoid the conversation. Not only had Dante gone behind his back, but he had also insinuated that he thought Nero was _gay_. _Way to go, insult him a little more why don't'cha?_ Figuring the awkward silence was there to stay, Dante took a bite of his slice, picking at the side of the box just to occupy himself.

"I've known Kyrie since we were kids. I don't know, guess I've always had a thing for her, but I was too scared she'd never take me seriously. I acted more like another brother to her for most of our lives…" Nero said quietly, then quickly shoved his pizza into his mouth.

"Kay, so you had a crush on her and what? She decided to chain you up like an animal and beat the hell out of you?"

"No! No, it wasn't like that," he demanded, holding his hand up in front of his mouth to avoid losing his food. "At first…"

"At first? What did she do, one say she brought home a collar and said: Hey honey, lets try this out?"

Nero shook his head lightly, taking another bite of his pizza. They sat there silence again until Nero had finished eating. It was impossible to miss how he kept glancing over at the box in Dante's lap.

"Well?" he demanded, scooting the box over onto the cushion between them. "I'm not a mind reader, remember?"

"At first we had a normal relationship. I mean, we went on dates, held hands, that kind of thing. It was nice for a long time. And then…"

"Then what? Things turned to shit after you slept with her?"

"No we- I mean, Kyrie and I have never… That's where things got complicated."

Dante nearly choked on his pizza, coughing lightly to clear his throat. Did the kid just say he and little psycho girl had _never _slept together? Then what the hell were they doing with the whole collar and beating gig? Dante was glad he hadn't gotten the story from her. Not only was he confused as all get out, but it only served to make him more angry over the situation. Not only was she beating the living shit out of him, she wasn't even putting out!

"Kyrie and her brother Credo were always real religious types. Waiting for marriage and all that. Which, I mean, I was _fine _with. Totally didn't mind waiting, but after a couple years holding hands and dates weren't enough anymore. It all started out as a joke. The whole collar thing."

"And then she went crazy?"

"She didn't go crazy! Well, I don't think she did. I think she just figured out she liked to boss people around instead of keeping quiet. And I really didn't mind her ordering me around, it seemed to make her happy, so I just went with it."

"Ok, so how did we go from taking orders, to _this_?"

Nero fell quiet again, slowly moving to collect another slice of pizza when he realized Dante wasn't going to stop him. Waiting patiently while the kid ate his second slice, he shifted to get more comfortable on the couch, propping his legs up on the coffee table.

"After Credo died she was really depressed for a while. I tried to help her through it, but all she seemed to be interested in was kicking me around all the time. I kept telling myself that it was just because she was in pain. That it would pass. But it just kept getting _worse_. And before I realized it, things were like this…"

He pointed at his bandaged neck with a frown and Dante wondered if he felt guilty for it somehow. Like he should have done something to prevent his fate, to help the girl cope _without _injuring himself in the process.

"Alright, well, what did you do for her to kick you out?" Dante asked, deciding to keep him talking to get as much information as possible.

"I…snuck out of the room while she was asleep to get something to drink and she decided to punish me…" he whispered, running his fingers over the slowly fading welts on his forearms. "I told her to stop hitting me or I was leaving. So she ripped my tags off and tossed me outside like a bad dog. Told me I'd come crawling back sooner or later."

"And are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Gonna go crawling back?"

Things went silent again. Dante had a good feeling that was going to be a normal occurrence around the office if the kid stayed. _If _he stayed. Dante frowned slightly at the thought of Nero going back to the insane woman's house. Not only upset because she would just mistreat him again, but also because he really didn't want the kid to go. He couldn't admit it out loud, but he thought Nero was plain adorable. Even now, with pizza sauce stuck to the corners of his mouth as he munched happily on a new slice. Dante's perverted mind started to take off without him. Grand illusions of pushing the pizza off onto the floor, pouncing on the younger male to kiss the offending sauce away. He could practically feel his thin body squirming underneath him, _hear _him gasping in pleasure instead of pain-

"I don't know. I _was _going to go back, but I fell asleep on that bench. And when I woke up, I was _here_," Nero sighed suddenly, breaking Dante out of his vivid day dream. Lady was right. _Again_. He was totally into Nero.

"You don't have to go back there. I already told you, you can crash here. Seems you have a knack for cleaning and I'm well know for being lazy. I mean, do you really want to go back to _that_?"

"Kyrie's has taken care of me since we were little. Her family took me in. She lov-"

"Kid, that's not love…"

"It's just-I don't know yet. Is that Ok?"

Dante smirked lightly, reaching over to grab another slice of pizza.

"Yeah, that's Ok."

* * *

><p>Nero had been in a lot of awkward situations in his lifetime, but he was certain that this one took the cake. Sitting next to a complete stranger, talking about his failed relationship with the love of his life. Not to mention the stranger had assumed that he was gay. And maybe he was. Hell, for all he knew he could have been gay all along! It wasn't like he'd ever had anything substantial with Kyrie and Dante… Well, Dante just made him feel <em>safe<em>. The fact that he was outrageously attractive didn't hurt either. But he wasn't going to let Dante know any of that, not a chance in _hell_.

"You really…thought it was going to be a man?" Nero muttered, trying to backtrack over the subject innocently.

"Yeah…" Dante breathed, glancing over at him with a frown. "You want a beer?"

Before Nero could even respond, Dante was up off of the couch, vanishing into the kitchen with lightning speed that made it seem like he was trying to avoid the subject all together. When he returned balancing two cans of beer in one hand and his pizza slice in the other, Nero just stared at him as he offered him a can.

"I'm…underage," Nero stated calmly.

"I won't tell if you won't," Dante sighed, flopping back onto the couch.

Nero shrugged lightly, taking one of the frosty cans from the older man. So far in less than a day, he'd had his first donut in _years_, tried coffee for the first time and decided he hated it. Was able to eat his fill of pizza and now…beer. Living with Dante was already shaping out to be pretty cozy. Even if he did have an awkward attraction to him. He decided it was best to just assume it was because Dante was nice to him. Because he treated him like a _person_.

"Well, it wasn't exactly like you were helping your case any…" Dante mumbled, cracking his can open.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't think you would seriously let that tiny girl beat on you like that for one thing…"

Nero opened his can slowly, sniffing at the amber colored liquid before he took a small sip. It was strange and _sharp_. The flavor was hard to place, but it kind of reminded him of bread in a weird way. He didn't know how else to describe it and decided he didn't love it or hate it.

"Plus, you kept checking me out," Dante added, causing Nero to spit his beer out over his hand.

"What? I did not!"

"Oh please, like I didn't notice why you were clinging onto that towel last night. Or how you were staring at me this morning… you were totally checking me out."

"Don't flatter yourself, old man!"

"Hey now, I'm not that much older than you. And don't be ashamed, I'd check me out too if I were you…"

Without thinking, Nero reached over and punched Dante in the shoulder out of sheer embarrassment. It wasn't until he saw Dante's arm jerk, spilling beer in his lap, that he realized what he had done and instantly shrank back to his end of the couch in fear. For what felt like hours, Dante just sat there staring at his beer stained crotch in shock before he slowly turned his head to gawk at Nero.

"Did you just…punch me?" Dante asked, blinking at him slowly.

"N-no!"

His voice squeaked, panic flooding his senses as every muscle in his body screamed at him to _run_. Dante was a tough looking guy and there was no way in hell Nero would win trading punches with him. Too petrified to move, Nero just sat there clinging to his beer can as a cruel looking smile spread over the older mans lips.

"You just punched me…" he repeated, chuckling darkly as he sat his beer down on the coffee table.

"No, I didn't mean to. I just-" Nero stammered, scooting forward onto the edge of the cushion. "I'm sorry!"

"Sorry my ass, you're in for it now…"

"No-"

Nero was halfway off of the couch when he felt Dante slam into him, using all of his weight to knock him to the floor. The can he had been holding flew from his hand, landing under the pool table in a fountain of foam and amber liquid. Nero couldn't help but yelp as Dante pinned him to the floor, clenching his eyes shut in perpetrating for the beating of a lifetime. He was shocked when he heard Dante laugh at him, a halfhearted punch landing on his shoulder.

"That's it, come on! Fight back!" Dante snorted. "Act like a _real _man!"

"I am a real man!" Nero snapped, peeking up at the older man hovering over him, knowing damn well he didn't look like a real man given their positions.

"Really? Cause you look like a huge wimp to me. I'd go as far as to say you're a _pussy_."

He didn't understand what it was about Dante that made him want to fight back. There was something in the man's cocky smirk and mocking laughter that just sparked irritation within him. And at the same time, thrilled him. While Kyrie had just beat him senseless without a word, Dante challenged him. He wanted Nero to fight back, probably to make beating him down all the more satisfying in the end.

Growling lightly, Nero bucked his hips, shoving Dante off of him with his hands once most of his weight was lifted off his legs. Dante toppled back into the coffee table, jarring it enough to knock his own beer can off onto the floor. Nero sat up quickly, scowling over at the older man before he dove at him, pinning him to the floor and returned the halfhearted punch to the shoulder. Dante's hands quickly reached up to grip the front of Nero's borrowed shirt, tugging him sideways so that he flopped over onto his back on the floor like a fish out of water. Over and over again, they rolled across the office floor, punching each other harder and harder in the shoulder until Nero's arms ached.

"Ouch!" Nero cried out breathily when Dante had flipped him onto his back for the last time.

Truthfully, he really hadn't hurt him in the slightest, but it worked to throw the older man off balance for a moment. Dante pulled back just long enough to allow Nero an opening to pin him down on the floor next to his desk. Lost in his moment of triumph, Nero completely ignored the fact that he was now straddling the older man's hips. He grinned down at Dante in pure excitement, hitting him gently in the chest.

"I win! Who's a _real _man now, huh?" he barked.

Dante just lay there beneath him, snowy hair pooled on the floor around his head, blinking up at him as if he didn't quite understand how he had ended up on the bottom. And then he simply _smiled_.

"You play dirty…" Dante muttered, raising his hands slowly up behind his head to make himself more comfortable on the floorboards. "But I don't mind letting you win if you really wanna be on top."

As if to get a point across, Dante wiggled slightly under him, forcing Nero to drop his eyes to where their bodies were touching. All of the rolling around on the floor had allowed his already loose clothing to slide down past his hips, his shirt tugged back so far around his neck that it left his stomach bare for Dante to see. No matter what way he twisted it in his head, it looked _bad_. The way his palms were pressed against Dante's chest to keep him down, the way he was just sitting on the man's junk! Heat flooded his cheeks as he suddenly flailed his arms, scrambling to get up as fast as possible before there was yet another awkward boner situation for Dante to tease him over.

"Old pervert! You did that on purpose!" Nero snapped, heaving in gulps of air to try and calm himself down despite the fact it was having the opposite effect.

"Hey, _you _were the one that climbed up on top of me, kid."

"You started the fight! If you want to molest someone, call your _girlfriend _and keep your hands off of me!"

_ Ok Nero…that sounded a little bitter. _He hadn't meant for the words to come out with so much acid in them, but he just couldn't seem to help it. He tried to reason with himself, blaming it on the fact that he just didn't like her, but really, he just didn't like the idea of her and Dante together.

"Girlfriend?" Dante chuckled, rolling over on his stomach. "You don't mean…_Lady_? She's not my girlfriend! And even if she were, at least she wouldn't be half as crazy as that bitch you were dating."

Nero had taken a single step back toward the couch when he suddenly froze at Dante's comment. Even though he knew that he really shouldn't care what Dante said about Kyrie, old habits were hard to give up and the very idea of someone insulting her slipped a switch inside of him that he had no control over. Very slowly he turned back to glare at the older male as he climbed to his feet, trying to keep his breathing calm.

"Don't…talk about her like that," he demanded, his hands tightening into fists.

"Why not? She _is _a crazy bitch, Nero. No one in their right mind would do the things she's done to you…"

"You don't know anything about her. Don't talk about her like you know her."

Dante's playful smirk slowly faded, morphing into a serious expression that only served to make him even more angry.

"Why are you defending her? She beat you. Humiliated you. Kicked you out like a rabid animal. She's not your master, your lover, hell she's not even your _friend_. She needs to be locked away for the rest of her fucked up life," Dante said calmly, tapping his temple with his finger to illustrate he thought she was mental.

Nero had spent so much of his life defending Kyrie that now it was like second nature to him. There was no stopping himself as he stepped back toward Dante, bringing his right fist up to punch the older man in the jaw. While he was sure Dante could have avoided the blow, he just stood there and took the hit without even flinching. Nero could feel his knuckles throb in pain as he connected with bone, blood flying from Dante's lips onto the floor.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Nero shouted, beside himself with anger and confusion.

Angry because of what Dante had said and confused as to why it made him so angry in the first place. After everything that he had given Kyrie, she had only given him pain in return. He'd always wanted to get married and start a family of his own, but no matter how much he pressed the issue, she made it perfectly clear she had no intention of marrying him. Why would she? He was already damaged goods. He could hardly even take care of himself, let alone a _child_. He would never be good enough and he couldn't help but wonder if that was why he was really angry. Not because of _what _Dante had said, but because what he'd said was _right_.

Dante straightened up in front of him, reaching up to brush the blood off of his lip from where Nero had busted it. If he hadn't been angry at him before, he certainly would be _now_. Nero just stood there in front of him, chest heaving, waiting for whatever punishment Dante was going to dish out.

"She really is a cruel bitch. All the pain she's caused you and you still try to defend her. I bet she could care less of you _died_. Then she'd be free of ya…" he muttered, spitting blood onto the floor.

Nero swung at him again, not caring what happened to him now. He'd already punched him once, what harm could one more time do? Dante on the other hand, had different plans. Time almost seemed to slow down as Nero's first sailed right past Dante's face as the man dodged the blow. A strong hand wrapped around Nero's wrist as the other gripped the back of his neck, shoving him forward toward the desk.

Nero yelped in the anticipation of pain again, but aside from the awkward angle he was bent over the desk, Dante's grip was practically _gentle_. One hand pinning his wrist to the desk top, the other tangled slightly in his hair to push his face against the wood. Panic shot through him as Dante leaned down over his back, his breath tickling his ear as he spoke.

"You can hit me all day long if you want, kid. I'll take whatever it is you can throw at me, but I won't turn into her, got it?" Dante whispered, his body pinning Nero to the desk with little hope of freedom. "I'm not gonna hit you. If being submissive is something you like, I don't mind that, but there are betters ways of going about it. _Right _ways…"

Nero couldn't stop the shiver that tore down his spine as Dante spoke. His gentle grip somehow strong enough to keep Nero pinned without causing him pain. It felt like hours passed as they stood there like that, Dante's body curved around him so closely the could feel the older man's heart beating against his back. It wasn't until the fingers in his hair relaxed slightly that Nero thought Dante was actually going to just let him go. He instantly tired to straighten his body, only to have Dante pin him to the desk with his hips roughly.

"Don't. Move," he commanded and every muscle in his body seized up.

The hand around his wrist vanished and even though Nero desperately wanted to move, he didn't dare disobey the order Dante had given him. He could feel the hand reach around the front of his body, slipping up under his shirt so quickly that Nero gasped in surprise when warm fingers brushed over his stomach. Whatever awkward boner situations he had tried to avoid before suddenly became a very real problem as Dante's hand trailed up his chest, touching him so lightly it made him want to squirm.

"What are you-" he gasped, cut off by a sudden soft pinch on his nipple.

"Showing you the _right _way to be someone's pet."

His voice was sharp and direct, sending another quiver down Nero's spine. The younger male's eyes snapped open as he felt Dante's warm hand descend down his chest, lingering over his navel for a brief moment before he pressed his palm against Nero's crotch. He couldn't stop himself from jerking away from the contact, his hands flying to the edge of the desk to trying and gain leverage to push himself up. Dante quickly brought his leg up, hitting the back of Nero's left knee gently, causing the teen to stagger and lose his footing. Without the full support of both legs he collapsed back onto the desk, Dante still plastered to his back.

"I said not to move, Nero…" he sighed disappointedly.

A shaky breath crept out of his lungs, the warmth causing a small patch of condensation to appear on the desk before it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. He kept screaming at himself to tell Dante no. To demand that he stop, but he couldn't seem to make his voice work. His body trembled with both excitement and fear, unsure of what was about to happen to him. With the way their bodies were pressed so closely together there was no way for Nero _not _to feel the rather large bulge pressed against his ass. The fact that Dante was obviously aroused by the sudden turn of events left Nero confused. Kyrie had never shown any signs of being aroused when she pushed him around so he wasn't quite sure how to react.

He was amazed to find that even as forceful as Dante was being, his touch still remanded gentle. Almost loving as he grinded his palm against Nero's pants, causing the teen to gasp rather loudly in an attempt to hold back the pleasured moan that threatened to break free. Kyrie had never touched him before, it would have been too dirty. So he'd only been left with himself, when he was allowed. But Dante…it was almost as if the older male couldn't get enough of him. When the loose fabric of his borrowed jeans began to feel slightly uncomfortable he felt Dante's expert fingers tugging the button loose, jerking the zipper down quite forcefully. As he felt the material suddenly slide down off of his slender hips it occurred to him to fight back again, whimpering lightly, trying to life his head enough to at least see Dante's face.

"If you keep moving around so much, I'm going to have to punish you. Is that what you want?" Dante purred against his ear, strong fingers caressing his scalp, reminding him that he was suppose to remain still.

"N-no, but you s-shouldn't-"

"Shouldn't _what_? Do you really want me to stop this?"

Long fingers hooked into the waistband of his boxers, griping his length firmly. Nero cried out loudly, fingers clawing at the desk desperately for anything to hold onto. He could hear Dante chuckle softly, his hand stroking him softly. Nero jerked his head back and forth quickly, trying to get him to stop, but Dante simply took it as a sign that Nero didn't want him to stop at all. As soon as his hand reached the tip of his cock, he gave him a gentle squeeze causing Nero to shiver under him. He tried his best to make a coherent objection to what was happening, but as Dante's hand suddenly shot back down to the base of his erection he could moan loudly, finding the edge of the desk to hold onto.

Whatever part of him that had wanted Dante to stop before completely vanished from his brain. All he cared about was the blissful friction that he was causing. He couldn't stop his hips from buck up into Dante's hand, which seemed to be the only movement the older male would tolerate. Before Nero could even understand _why _Dante was doing this to him, he was writhing and moaning on the top of his desk in sheer ecstasy. He didn't understand how it was possible for it to feel so much better than when he'd done it himself and he really didn't care. All he wanted was _more_.

Dante's hand suddenly vanished from his hair, reaching down to pull the boxers halfway off so that he had more room to work. As he suddenly picked up his pace, Nero couldn't keep control of his body, his knees giving out on him completely and Dante had to actually wrap his free arm around his stomach to keep him upright.

"N-no! Dante-ngh-s-stop! I can't-" Nero whimpered, feeling his release quickly building.

"Go ahead, Nero. It's alright…" Dante murmured, his voice laced with lust.

A shock shot through his body as he practically exploded over Dante's hand and the desk. Dante kept his quick pace going until Nero finally stopped jerking his hips up into his hand and when Dante finally _did _release him, Nero was left in a spent heap on the desk top, chest heaving violently. He'd been so used to pain that he had almost forgotten what pleasure was suppose to feel like. He didn't even have enough strength to flinch when Dante's hands returned, scooping up under his arms to pull him back onto his feet.

"You see? That's how that's suppose to work. That's the right way to take care of your pet…" Dante sighed, holding him against his chest tenderly.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but for the first time in nearly forever, Nero felt _happy _right there in his arms.


	5. Anxiety

He knew that he was probably pushing it. If Lady knew, she'd beat him over the head with his own chair. But once he'd gotten Nero in such a compromising position, things were over before he even realized what he'd started. And now that it was over, he was having a very difficult time letting the teen go. Nero's limbs were so weak that he didn't even protest as Dante hugged him gently to his chest. He could feel his lungs expanding and deflating so rapidly that he thought the kid was going to start hyperventilating if he didn't calm down.

Shushing him quietly, Dante kept running his clean hand up and down Nero's chest soothingly until he finally stopped panting. There was no telling what was going through the kid's mind, he just hoped he wouldn't freak out and go running back to that little bitch. As far as he was concerned, he could be ten time the master she could ever hope to be for Nero. He knew exactly how to be assertive without causing pain, which was apparently what Nero craved. He couldn't help but smirk at the lovely mess painted over his desk in sheer pride. It had ended far better than he could have predicted. Nero was just simply mouth watering…

"There…" he chuckled softly. "Feel better now?"

To his surprise, Nero actually nodded, his eyes still squinted shut. Very slowly he pulled back away from him, removing his arms last to ensure the kid wasn't going to topple head first into the desk. Once he was sure Nero was steady he grabbed his hips gently, pulling the disheveled boxers back up to their proper place. He had to ignore the anger that flared up when he felt just how _thin _Nero was. In the heat of the moment he hadn't really paid it any attention, but now that he wasn't distracted by a sexy moaning teenager, it was quite obvious he was borderline _ill_.

"Nero…why don't you go take a shower? Ill bring your clothes up after I clean this mess up…" he sighed, the mood totally ruined.

Nero turned his head ever so slightly, his eyes fluttering open slowly to peer at Dante with a frown. It was possible that he took the tone of his voice as irritation toward him, causing Dante to smile at him just to be reassuring.

"Go. Looks like you could use a shower and a nap after that," he chuckled, watching Nero turn five shades of red. "Plus, can't leave this laying around in case a customer strolls in."

He reached out slowly, pushing Nero gently out of the jeans that were piled up around his feet toward the stairs. The teen glanced at the desk for a brief moment before he suddenly bolted for the stairs as if he were ashamed. Dante couldn't help but laugh at him, leaning down to scoop up the discarded jeans. It was truthfully the last thing he wanted to be doing when he could have simply locked the front door and followed the kid upstairs to finish what they had started. But then again, he didn't want to push his luck too far in one day.

Taking longer than he was sure was needed to clean up their little mess, Dante washed his hands in the kitchen sink, digging Nero's clothes out of the dryer. He wasn't really the kind of person to fold laundry, especially not someone _else's _laundry, but he wanted to give Nero time to calm down just in case he'd freaked him out. But procrastination only got him so far and by the time he scaled the stairs Nero wasn't even in the bathroom anymore. He tried not to panic, stepping into the bathroom to feel the rug. It was still we which meant he couldn't have gone far.

"Kid?" he called, peeking into the tub behind the shower curtain. _Empty_. "Nero?"

Poking his head back out into the hallway he glanced down toward his bedroom where he saw Nero leaning out of the bedroom in almost the exact same way. Dante couldn't help but smirk in relief, seeing that he hadn't taken off. Nero flushed pink again, ducking back into the bedroom to no doubt hide himself. Shaking his head he nearly jogged down the hall, peeking into the room to see Nero standing at the foot of his bed in nothing but a towel. He had to remind himself to breath properly as he stepped into the room.

Naturally his first thought was to just tackle the kid onto the bed and ravish him, but the closer he got, the more he started to notice the cuts and scars all over his thin body. What he had seen on his arms was just the beginning of the shit storm. The red welts that had covered his arms continued well onto his chest, like she had beaten him while he was shirtless. Or probably even naked. He couldn't stop the anger from welling up again, he _should _have slapped her anyway. Given her a taste of her own damn medicine.

"I'm sorry…" Nero mumbled, dropping his eyes to the floor. "I didn't have anything to put on."

Dante blinked down at him in confusion for a moment before he realized that he was probably scowling at the poor kid. Sighing softly, he took a step closer only to have Nero flinch away from him, almost toppling over onto the bed. Moving slowly to keep from startling him, Dante reached out to grab him by the wrist, tossing his folded clothes onto the bed behind him. He could feel Nero trembling under his fingers, but he didn't even try to resist him as he pulled the teen closer.

"I just wanna see, hold still," he said softly, eyes roaming over his marred skin.

He was so pale that it made even the smallest mark look worse than it actually was. Most of the scars littering his arms and torso were small and faded, but still very easy to see amongst the red welts. Resisting the urge to reach out and touch them, he spun him around slowly to see his back. It was by far the _worst_. The small red welts on his arms and chest were _nothing _compared to the long gashes on his back.

"How can you not be angry at her for this?" Dante demanded, trailing his free hand over the scabbed over wounds on his back.

Nero hissed lightly in pain and Dante instantly pulled his hand back away from the wounds.

"I…am mad. I'm mad about a lot of things. But I learned a long time ago that retaliating didn't get my very far," Nero whispered turning back to face him. "I let her push me around and hit me because I was ashamed of myself. Because I'm a _freak_."

"Did _she _tell you that? That you're a freak?"

"N-no…"

"Then who did?"

"No one. It's just…aren't I a freak? For not fighting back? That must mean I liked it in some twisted way."

Dante rolled his eyes, taking another step closer, the time forcing Nero to fall back onto the bed. The teen gasped when Dante kneeled over him, straddling his legs with a grin on his face. Visual aid was easily the best way to get points across and while Dante refused to hurt the kid, he had enough scars to work with already. Using one hand to keep himself upright, he placed the other one flat against his damp chest, watching as he instantly snapped his eyes shut.

"Did you like it when she hit you here?" Dante asked calmly and Nero just shook his head no. "And what about here?"

He dragged his fingertips gently over a rather long scar across his ribcage. He had to force himself to ignore how he could feel each individual rib through his pale skin. Again, Nero just shook his head no, his body trembling uncontrollably under his fingertips.

"And did you like when she beat you for getting a drink without her permission?" he rambled, trailing over the red mark that was overlapping the old scar.

"N-no…"

"When she made you ask her permission to even go to the bathroom?"

"No."

"When she tossed you out like an unwanted pet?"

"No!"

He glanced up at him to see his stormy eyes fixed on him with a rare look of frustration in them. He couldn't help but smirk at him fondly, he liked it much better when Nero was being feisty. Pulling his hand away from his body, he lowered himself closer to the teen's neck, hovering just above the scars he had bandaged the night before. It was easy to hear the way the kid's breath hitched suddenly, involuntarily turning his head to give Dante more access.

"But you don't mind this?" he asked, pressing his lips against his neck just below his jaw line.

Nero lurched suddenly under him, a sound that faintly resembled a squeak escaping his mouth. Dante smiled against his skin, sighing contently before he sat back up to look at his face. He had clenched his eyes shut again, biting down on his bottom lip to keep anymore embarrassing noises from escaping. Reaching up, Dante poked him in the cheek gently, causing his eyes to fly open in shock.

"Well? Answer me Nero…" he demanded, tilting his head down to see his face better.

"No?"

"No, what?"

"No…I didn't mind?"

It was easy to hear the fear in the tone of his voice, probably scared by the fact that he actually _liked _his kiss. That or he was scared that Dante would be grossed out by him. But it didn't matter to him at all. He figured it would have been obvious after what had happened downstairs that Dante was a little attracted to him. Alright, _way _more than a little, but still…

"So, in conclusion, you don't like pain, but you like things like this?" Dante chuckled, leaning back down to place another kiss on his neck. "You like pleasure, not _pain_. How does that make you a freak, Nero?"

"I-I don't know!" he gasped, gripping the blankets under him as Dante nipped his skin gently. "I'm c-confused! I can't t-think like this!"

Sitting back up, Dante reluctantly stood up form the end of the bed to give the kid some room. _Confused_. Dante could understand that and he was still trying to remind himself not to push his luck. The longer he kept teasing the poor boy, the more problems he would have trying to walk away from him. He was already going to have a difficult enough time dealing with persistent hard on he'd acquired from all the excitement downstairs. It never seemed to go just _one _way, teasing someone else would always backfire on him.

"Get dressed and get some sleep kid. I'm gonna go take a shower and head out to get a few things," he chuckled turning toward the door immediately.

"To get _what _things?" Nero asked, his breathing still heavy.

"Food for your scrawny ass. You can sleep up here so I don't wake you up when I get back."

"In…your bed?"

"It's just a bed, kid. Sleep, I'll be back."

Without waiting for him to respond he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind himself. It was more to keep him out rather than to keep Nero in. First order of business was to take a shower and relieve himself before he could even attempt to go out in public. He was already stripping halfway down the hall, not even bothering to close the bathroom door as he unzipped his jeans, groaning as the constricting material loosened around his penis. It was a little shocking that something as simple as touching Nero had gotten him so worked up.

Turning on the shower he stripped out of his jeans and boxers on one quick motion, hissing as the cold air assaulted his burning flesh and nearly dove into the shower. He just stood there under the scalding waterfall for a moment, letting it wash away the chill clinging to his skin before he finally glanced down to look at himself. Morning wood and sex aside, Dante was accustomed to having such persistent boners. There had been many a skimpy outfit that Lady had worn that brought him to full attention behind the safety of his desk, but it usually just went away if he ignored it. But this, this was just insatiable. It baffled him how something as simple as stroking the kid off had made him so damn hot. Was it his voice?

As soon as he allowed himself to remember the sounds he had quite literally rubbed out of the teen, his body shuddered in pure _want_. Frowning slightly, he reached up to grip his own length with the very same hand he had used to touch Nero's. As soon as his fingers coiled around the hot flesh, his eyes rolled closed, a soft groan escaping his lungs. What had once felt like nothing more than an act to relieve stress or boredom now had a whole new meaning. He didn't want to be standing alone in a shower stroking himself. He wanted to be pinning Nero on the bed, making him write and pant beneath him.

"Damn it, kid…" Dante gasped, using his other arm to keep himself upright in the shower as his body shuddered uncontrollably. "N-Nero!"

The fleeting vision of Nero writhing on his desk was enough to push him over the edge, leaving Dante panting heavily as he came into his own palm. Despite the fact that it felt like such a waste, at the very least he felt better. Shopping for food with the little money he had managed to hide from Lady wouldn't be so awkward now.

* * *

><p>Nero found himself blinking at the closed door in confusion as Dante left him alone. He had seriously thought after everything that had happened that Dante was just going to keep going. But he hadn't…and more importantly, he'd helped him realize that he wasn't as much of a freak as he thought he was. Aside from the fact that he now thought Dante was the sexiest thing on two legs, he felt fairly normal. Thinking another man was sexy could be normal…couldn't it?<p>

Shaking his head roughly, Nero quickly pulled his boxers and jeans on, happy to be back in his _own _clothes. Not that he didn't appreciate Dante's, his just felt more natural. Quickly pulling on his shirt he left the red hoody and denim jacket on the end of the bed and went in search of Dante. Now that his mind wasn't as clouded by the older man touching on him, he was going to demand to know what Dante was trying to prove. Pulling the door open he stuck his head out into the hall, seeing steam billowing out of the open bathroom door. At least the old man hadn't gone _far_. With him in the shower it was the perfect time to question without risking another grope session.

_ Just stick you head in there and ask! It's not like you're asking him to do it again, you just need to know why! _Trying to convince himself to ask the question was easier said than done. Nero found himself clinging to the wall, inching closer to the bathroom as slowly as possible. And just as he had worked up the courage to peek into the bathroom, he froze instantly seeing Dante's form through the nearly translucent shower curtain. It was obvious what he was doing, even through the steam and the curtain. Nero just wasn't prepared for what happened _next_.

"N-Nero!"

If it were at all possible to have wings attached to one's feet, Nero was quite certain he had sprouted them in that very instant. Positive he had turned every shade of red possible as he hauled ass back down the hall and dove under the covers on Dante's bed. First the whole desk incident and now _this_. He knew that Dante had his own issue to take care of, that was obvious enough due to the huge bulge in the older man's jeans, but to think of _him _while he did _that_? He just couldn't wrap his head around it.

Nero was scrawny and marred beyond repair. Not to mention his state of mental health wasn't the best it had ever been. He was so used to being beaten that he was afraid no matter how much kindness the older man showed him, he would _always _fear the worst. And that just wasn't fair to Dante. In the near day and a half he'd been in the office, he'd been shown more kindness than he had seen in the last few _years _of his life. Dante was obviously strong, yet somehow gently every time he touched him. Laying there in his bed, breathing in the very scent of him, all Nero could think was that he wanted more. He wanted more of Dante, needed him to love him like no one else had.

Hearing the floorboards in the hallway creak, Nero threw the blanket up over his head, trying to lay as still as possible. He prayed that Dante was just coming into the room to get clothes and that he hadn't caught Nero gawking at him in the shower. Every creak made his heart pound a little harder, so much so that it got to a point where he was sure Dante would _hear _it. When he heard the dresser drawer scrape open he let out a small breath of relief. He was sure that if Dante had caught him that he would have said something. And then the bed shifted.

Nero couldn't keep himself from suddenly going rigid under the covers as Dante's body bumped his legs. Cursing himself mentally, he lay there with his eyes clenched shut, hopping that he hadn't given himself away. But he knew that he was just deluding himself. Dante was just way too observant of him. Almost as if he went thought a lot of extra effort just to keep track of his every movement.

"Kid? You still awake under there?" Dante muttered so softly that it made him sound unsure of himself.

Groaning lightly, he pulled the blanket down just under his nose, blinking up at Dante. He was shirtless again and Nero absently decided he liked him better with less clothing on. He was just too damn perfect. Dante stared down at him with a disappointed expression on his face and Nero could tell he was holding back _something_.

"You were suppose to go to sleep," Dante sighed, reaching over to flick him in the nose.

"I'm trying!" he demanded, flailing slightly as Dante hit his nose.

Dante chuckled at him softly, standing up from the bed to open his closet. Nero couldn't stop his eyes from moving down his toned body, settling on his crotch. He was only wearing boxers and Nero found himself gulping at the sight. Even when the man wasn't hard it was easy to see the outline of his manhood through the thin material. The curiosity outweighed the fear, his brain demanded to know what such a gorgeous human being would ever do such things with _him_. He couldn't make sense of it and it was starting to become unbearable. He needed to know if Dante liked him, _wanted _Dante to want him the same way he did.

"Dante?" Nero mumbled, pulling the blanket up under his eyes to trying and hide his red cheeks.

"Yeah, kid?" he answered, digging through his closet.

"Why?"

Something that sounded distinctly like a hanger clattered to the floor inside the closet as Dante suddenly went rigid in front of it. Nero instantly regretted asking, but he had to know. He watched Dante closely as he leaned down to pull the jeans off of the closet floor and flopped back down onto the bed to pull them over his feet.

"I told you, I'm gonna go shopping, so you can sleep up here while I'm gone. It's warmer…" he chuckled.

"No, I mean, why did you-you know-do that," he whispered, wishing he could stop the stream of words that were escaping. "What happened downstairs, I mean…"

"Because I wanted to show you not everything is about pain," he responded plainly, almost like he was bored. He should have known better than to get his hopes up. How could he expect a beautiful person like Dante to even pretend to love him?

"O-oh…ok," Nero mumbled, pulling the blanket up over his head.

Very slowly, Nero could feel the blanket being pulled down away from his head, Dante's face closer than it had been before. He was staring down at him with a smug sort of look in his frosty eyes that Nero wasn't sure how to take. He kept shifting his gaze around, stopping several times on Dante's bare chest despite the fact that he didn't _want _to. Dante's smug look turned into a devilish smirk ever so slowly as he leaned closer still.

"Why? You want me to do it again?" he asked in a hushed voice that made Nero's legs tremble.

"N-no I-it's just-I don't get it," he stammered, panic flooding his brain.

"Get what?"

Nero grasped the blanket, trying desperately to pull it back over his head. When it was obvious he wasn't going to win that battle due to Dante's ridiculous strength, he reached up to pull the pillow he was laying on over his head. Now that Dante was actually entertaining the conversation he didn't really to know any more. Positive that he couldn't take anymore of the heartache he already suffered at the hands of Kyrie. But just like the blanket, the pillow was torn away from him so quickly that it actually made his fingers throb.

"Get what, Nero? Why I wanted to show you in the first place? I figured that was kind of obvious…" Dante murmured, sending more tremors down Nero's spine.

With nothing to hide behind Nero was left to gawk up at Dante in sheer terror. Not that he would hurt him, but that he would reject him. Part of his brain kept trying to reason with him, saying that Dante hadn't pushed him away yet, so why would he start now? But the experience he'd had in his life left little room for optimism.

"I mean, why with me? You're all-forget it! Forget I asked," he choked, trying to pull the pillow back out of Dante's strong hands.

Dante's smirk melted into a look he could only describe as sadness, pulling the pillow farther away from Nero's grasp and dropped it at the foot of the bed. With his hands free, Dante reached up to hold Nero's face still, his grip as gentle as ever. As he started to lean closer, Nero could feel his chest heaving as he tried to keep himself under control. Instinct told him to run, but his ever hopeful heart wanted to see what Dante was going to do. The older man paused just inches from his face, icy eyes serious as he looked over his face.

"Like I said, I figured it was kinda obvious that I like you. Guess I was wrong," Dante sighed and Nero's heart bucked in his chest.

"Don't. Don't say that," Nero pleaded, clamping his eyes shut to avoid having to see Dante's face.

"Why not? It's the truth…"

"No, it can't be. Not with me."

"Kid, you're ramblin'. Whatever you've gotta say, just say it already. Why don't you think I could like you?"

"Because you-you're perfect. And me…I'm all fucked up. Every time you move I flinch thinking you're gonna hit me. I don't wanna flinch anymore…"

Dante made a sound that resembled a scoff, something soft and warm pressing against his forehead. His eyes snapped open just in time to see Dante leaning back away from him with a warm smile on his lips. He kept his hands on Nero's face, brushing his thumbs gently over his cheekbones.

"Kid, I am _far _from perfect. And you're a little fucked up, I'll give ya that. But I will _never _hit you. Think I've proved that by now," he chuckled, licking his lip where Nero had hit him earlier for the badmouthing of his former master. "Stay here with me and you can work on getting better. I'll take care of ya, the _right _way."

Warmth spread over his cheeks again as memories from the desk flooded his mind. Maybe he was a hopeful fool, but at that moment all he could do was nod in agreement, loving every word that spilled out of Dante's gorgeous mouth. He didn't sugar coat things and when he smiled, Nero could actually _see _the happiness in his eyes. Not like the fake and cruel smiles he had received most of his life. Dante was warm and _real _and Nero wanted to trust him.

"Good," Dante sighed, relief blooming over his features as he let go of Nero's face and grabbed the pillow. "Now get some damn sleep. I'll be back."

Nero found himself hugging the pillow as it plopped gently onto his face, peeking over it to watch Dante stand up to pull his jeans all the way on. It wasn't until he moved to pull a shirt out of the closet that Nero let the pillow go, reaching out to grab Dante's hand dangling at his side. His grip was weak, two fingers pinching his hand lightly to get his attention. Dante didn't hesitate to turn his head back toward him, twisting his hand to grab Nero's.

"Dante…" he mumbled, blinking up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have to go get food now?" he breathed, dropping his eyes to their interlocked fingers. "Can't you do it later?"

Dante smirked down at him, turning around to face him fully. His jeans were still unbuttoned, like he really hadn't been in a rush to leave in the first place.

"What? You want me to stay with you while you sleep?" he asked, a teasing tone flickering in his voice.

Nero simply nodded, unable to actually say the words out loud. Kyrie had never entertained his clingy nature and while he was sure Dante wasn't the type to cuddle, he didn't want to be left alone. He didn't care if Dante took the bed while he curled up on the floor, as long as he was there Nero would be happy. Dante pulled his hand away from Nero's, reaching up to unzip his jeans with a soft sigh as he slid them off.

"Alright, brat. Move over…" he laughed, waving his hand for Nero to scoot.

Nero found himself having to hold back a sudden fit of hysterics as he shifted farther into the bed to make room for the older man. It was weird and unnatural and Nero really didn't care. He was _wanted_, that was all that mattered to him. Dante slid under the blanket, yanking Nero closer once he was settled in.

"Get over here and keep me warm. It's fucking _cold _out there…" he griped, hugging Nero tightly to his chest.

Nothing in the world could take away the huge grin that spread over Nero's lips as he curled up in Dante's grasp and drifted off to sleep. _Safe _and warm.

* * *

><p>"Dante… Dante, get up!"<p>

Groaning, he waved his hand at the living alarm clock that was currently buzzing in his ear. Somewhere in the back of his brain he kept yelling at himself to pay attention, but the lazy portion of his brain wanted five more minutes. For the rest of eternity. He felt the bed jerk suddenly, gentle hands shaking his shoulders. Tucking his head farther under the pillow, he tried to hide his face as a smile forced it's way onto his lips. The kid was getting more feisty by the _day_.

"Dante! Get up! You can't sleep in all day!" Nero growled, sitting on his lower back. "And that lady is at the door! Come on, get up!"

"Lady?" he mumbled, lifting his head slightly.

"Yeah, her. She's banging on the door again…"

"So why are you up here botherin' me? Go let her in."

"No, she's mean."

Chuckling, Dante rolled over quickly, causing Nero to topple off of him onto the bed. The teen yelped lightly, struggling to right himself as Dante wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer.

"How about we ignore her and spend the day in bed instead?" he purred, holding Nero as close as possible while still allowing him to breath.

"Oh no! You told me not to let you lay around in bed all day because she was gonna be here! Come on, get up!" Nero snapped, wiggling feebly in his arms.

"Did I? That doesn't sound like me…"

"Yes, you did! Get up!"

"Fine, fine…I'm up!"

Reluctantly, Dante pulled his arms away from the warm body next to him and sat up in the bed. He could see the pout on Nero's face as the teen slid off of the bed, stretching lightly. A week. Nero had been living with him for a week and Dante had to admit it, it have been a pretty sweet week. When Dante left to actually work, Nero took up cleaning just to pass the time. Or so he said. He wasn't a half bad cook either. Dante preferred pizza himself, but during their brief visit to the grocery store he couldn't deny buying him the things he asked for. Dante was now a fan of spaghetti, if only to watch Nero get sauce all over his face like a two year old. That was fairly priceless.

Dante didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring at Nero as he moved toward the closet. He was wearing Dante's only pair of pajama pants, bright crimson cotton contrasted against the pale skin of his bare chest. The red marks that had covered his arms and body were long since faded. The deep gashes on his back were now completely healed, now pink marks instead of deep red wounds. He'd even started picking up weight again. Things always got a little awkward when Dante would grab him and ended up zoning out when he felt how thin or light he was. Now when Dante grabbed him, he didn't feel nothing but bone anymore. Like yesterday, when he'd ambushed the teen getting out of the shower…

"What are you smirking at, old man?" Nero hissed, pulling out one of Dante's shirts.

"Nothin', just thinking about yesterday. You know, when I-"

"OK! I get it!"

He couldn't help but laugh as Nero quickly pulled on the shirt and literally scampered out of the room. Any day that he could start out by making the kid blush was a _good _day. Pulling on a pair of pants just to avoid Lady bashing him in the skull for answering the door in his underwear, he shuffled down the hall slowly, passing Nero who was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. As soon as he caught sight of Dante walking past he ducked his head down, almost bashing it on the faucet to avoid making eye contact. Shaking his head, Dante continued down the stairs. It was just a grope for crying out loud, he didn't understand why Nero was being so bashful, but he loved it.

As soon as he unlocked the front door and peeled it open he was greeted by Lady's scowling face, her jacket covered in a good dusting of snow. If he had to take a wild guess he would say she wasn't too happy with him, though he kept his mouth shut to avoid _another _slap.

"It's about damn time! What's the point in calling me over here just to _not _answer the door?" Lady snapped, pushing past him into the office. "And since when did you start locking the door? There's nothing worth stealing in this dump! Including you…"

He waved his hand in a motion to invite her in, despite the fact that she was already halfway across the office by the time he shut the door. Turning to stare at her, he shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged lightly. It should have been obvious why he was locking the door.

"Nero…" he stated plainly, Lady turning to frown at him.

"Nero? Who is going to steal him?" she asked, her tone a little more serious.

"I gave that…_woman_, my card. I don't want her showing up out of no where and trying to take him back."

"But I thought you said he wanted to stay here with you. She can't take him against his will, Dante."

"Can't she…?"

Dropping his head he dragged his feet all the way to the couch and flopped down. He didn't like to admit it out loud, but there was no one that knew him better than Lady. Even if he tried to hide it from her, she would just _know_.

"What are you talking about Dante, seriously," she huffed, moving to sit next to him.

"If she walks in here and demands that he come home with her, I'm…afraid he'll listen to her."

"Oh please! You think he'll _really _go back to a life of abuse when he can sit right here and get man handled by _you_?" she snorted, reaching over to tug on his hair. "You're right, you should be afraid."

"Seriously, Lady…"

"Dante, that kid thinks you're the damn sun and moon. He's not going anywhere…"


	6. Patience Of A Fart

"I'm sorry, you want _me _to do _you _a favor? I don't think so!"

"Come on, you didn't even hear me out…"

"I don't care! I still haven't forgiven you for letting me sit on that desk after…that!"

"I said I cleaned it up! What more do you want?"

"That's just sick, Dante. I still can't believe you practically molested that poor boy like that…"

"Well, he liked it."

Nero was huddled up in the hallway, listening to the conversation echoing from downstairs. He could have just stayed in the bedroom and listened, but when he heard the faint mention of his name, he wanted a better vantage point. Normally, when Lady stopped in, Nero would wait in Dante's room until she yelled at him and left. It was always the same thing with her : Money. From what Nero could gather, Dante owed her a _lot _of money and it made him feel guilty when he bought him food, but Dante would just insist that they had to eat, or they would die. And dead men couldn't pay off debts. Couldn't really argue with that logic…

"You're impossible! What do you want _now_?" Lady snapped.

"Clothes."

"Excuse me? You want _clothes_?"

"Yeah, for the kid. He doesn't have any. Two pairs of jeans and two shirts don't last long…"

"He can wear yours."

"_I _don't have any clothes! Look, Lady, just take him out to get some clothes, _please_. I'll have some money for you when you get back."

Panic flooded his limbs at the thought of going anywhere with that woman! She was mean and loud and…just mean! He didn't care if he had to make clothes out of newspaper from the damn dumpster, he wasn't going!

"Like I haven't heard _that _before! And where are you going to get money?" Lady scoffed.

"It's Friday, payday baby! Gonna go collect on a job I did a couple days ago. Here, I'll even get you started…" Dante laughed, pausing for a moment before something slammed down on the desk. "Four whole bucks! That's all I got to my name."

"Four dollars? Are you serious? What have you been feeding him, _air_?"

"Pizza... And beer?"

Something knocked over, crashing onto the floor causing Nero to jump. Now she was throwing things? How the hell did Dante expect him to go shopping with her? The old man had officially gone senile!

"Beer? Dante he-he is a _minor!_ Do you have any sense of responsibility in that _thick _head of yours? I swear, what he see's in you I'll never-" she shrieked once the crashing ceased.

"So, will you take him out or what?"

"Alright, Mr. Brilliant, you really think he will want to go anywhere with me? You do remember the last time you left us alone? He avoided me like the damn plague!"

"Can you blame-I mean, he was just spooked! He's better now! Look, hey Nero! Kid, get down here!"

If there had ever been a time in his life that Nero wished he was dead more than that very moment, he couldn't think of it. Dante's voice beckoned him to obey, even though he really didn't want to. He could go back to bed, pretend he hadn't heard him. He could-

"Nero! I know you're up there listenin'!" Dante shouted again.

Groaning in frustration he lurched up from his crouched position by the door and poked his head out onto the landing. Part of him prayed that was as far as he had to go, but he could tell by the look on Dante's face that he was no where near that lucky.

"There you are, come on down here would ya? Gotta talk to you about something'," he chuckled, waving his hand for Nero to come closer.

"Oh, this should be _rich_," Lady moaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Kid…don't make me drag you down here. Cause I will."

Oh, and he _would_. Dante had made it perfectly clear that he had no problem putting his hands on Nero's body. Some days lead to _extremely _embarrassing reactions while other times, Nero felt like Dante was just checking to see how fat he'd gotten. Squeezing him like one would test a melon at the supermarket. Not that he'd ever done such a thing, but he had watched a _little _TV in his lifetime. Like…a smidge.

Pressing his back against the wall, Nero slid down the stairs slowly. Lady remained perfectly still in front of Dante's desk as Nero inched closer at a snails pace. The older male left his hand suspended in the air, waving him closer until Nero was right beside him. He kept his eyes more on the floor than anything else, only glancing up at Dante to make sure he still wanted him to move closer.

"Nero, it's about time you got over this whole fear of Lady! She's not going to hit you unless you owe her money. Do _you _owe her money?" Dante asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

Shaking his head no in response, he kept staring at the floor, refusing to even look at her. Any second now Dante would say something rude and the yelling would start again. If she started launching things, Nero was hauling ass back upstairs and locking himself in the bedroom. Not that it would do him much good. He'd accidentally locked himself in Dante's room and fell asleep while Dante was out working a few days ago, only to wake up to a disgruntled looking male holding a wire hanger looming over him. Dante was apparently handy with it came to picking locks.

"See? I know she sounds like a rabid pit bull, but really she's as gently as a dairy cow-"

A loud smack echoed through the office, Nero actually yelping as Lady's pale hand slamming into the side of Dante's face.

"I'll show you dairy cow, you sick bastard!" she spat, slammed her hands down on the desktop.

"Hey now, I am _not _a bastard. My parents were married. And you're touching the desk again," he mumbled, rubbing his jaw.

"Damn it! That's _so _gross!"

He laughed. In that single moment he wasn't sure what had come over him, but he started to laugh and just couldn't seem to stop. Maybe it was the look on her face, or that Dante seemed un-phased by her attack, but either way he found it hilarious for some reason. It wasn't until her nearly topple backward and Dante's strong hands reached out to catch him that he realized he was being extremely rude.

"You alright there, kid?" Dante asked, staring at him wide eyed.

Trying to shake his head yes and wipe the tears from his eyes at the same time didn't quite work out the way he planned and before he knew it, Lady was laughing as well. It spread like an infection and soon all three of them were laughing. He couldn't remember the last time he laughed, forgotten that it felt _good _to laugh so hard that your ribs ached. Part of him was annoyed that he couldn't have this before with the girl he kept insisting he loved. But now, the thought of not waking up next to Dante made his heard spasm in a funny way. The girl was long forgotten when he looked at Dante's smiling face. _She _hadn't smiled since Credo died…

Reality slammed back into him like a ton of bricks, stripping the moment of any hilarity possible. When Dante and Lady realized he was no longer on the same boat, the laughter slowly died out into soft chuckles which eventually turned into awkward coughs. As gently as possible, he pulled his arms out of Dante's grip, thankful that the older man didn't hold on tighter. Crossing his arms over his chest he took a step back, waiting for whatever was going to happen. If Dante ordered him to go with Lady, he couldn't disobey him. Not after everything he had done for him…

"Seriously, Nero… She isn't going to hurt you. You need some clothes and I need to go to work. So please, just trust her?" Dante sighed, sitting up in his chair to stare at him.

For the first time since he'd came to live with Dante, he glanced up at Lady and _really _looked at her. Her cheeks were red from where she had been laughing, light freckles dusted across her nose. There was a scar there that he hadn't noticed before. The stern look he had seen in her two-toned eyes was absent as she smirked at him in a welcoming way. She really never did give him a reason to fear her, always speaking softly when she addressed him and she had called him 'poor boy' on more than one occasion.

"Alright…" he muttered, hugging himself tightly.

"Can we shake on it?" Dante asked, nodding for Lady to come closer.

Shaking her head lightly, she took a long stride closer to him, holding out her hand. The last thing he wanted to do was actually _touch _her, but he really didn't have a choice. He took a small step forward, lowering his arms from his chest and shoved his hand into hers. The moment that she latched on, he was jerked forward into a hug that he couldn't stop himself from trying to flail out of. Lady just chuckled at him, patting his back once before she let him go.

"Nice to 'officially' meet you, Nero. Let's go get you some clothes, OK?" she sighed, turning to point at Dante. "You. There better be money when I get back."

* * *

><p>The boy was quiet. And not just like nervous quiet, like…cemetery quiet. It would have bothered her if she didn't know about his past experience with women. When Dante had said that the prissy little bitch had fucked him up pretty bad, she tried not to think about to what extent. Now, she didn't have a choice. The extent of the damage was staring her right in the face, even though Nero refused to allow any kind of real eye contact. Which was quickly becoming an irritant when he wouldn't even look at the subject of their one-sided conversation.<p>

"Nero, honestly, do you like these or not?" Lady sighed, trying not to raise her voice. Anger would get her no where with him.

"Yes. They're fine."

She could feel her left eye _literally _twitch. Seven pair of jeans, seven questions and seven _identical _answers. _Yes. They're fine. _How the hell did Dante deal with this! He had the patience of a _fart _and she was already reaching a boiling point with the kid. There had to be a trick to it or something. Some kind of trigger that would make him comply without striking the fear of God into the poor boy. A light bulb went off in her brain as she realized what she had to do. Dante, he would do anything for _Dante_.

"Look, Nero, if you don't start taking this seriously then I'll buy whatever I want and Dante will just owe me that much more. Is that what you want?" she asked, holding back the sly grin that threatened to form. She might as well have sprouted fox ears!

Stormy eyes suddenly leapt up to hers, something _close _to fear sparking behind them, but at the very least she had his attention now.

"No," he stated calmly.

"No, what?"

"No, I don't like those."

She could see his body tense as if he were expecting some kind of punishment, but Lady just ignored it and dropped the gray denim back onto the pile with a shrug.

"Right, and these?" she continued, grabbing one of the other pair he had deemed 'fine'.

"No…"

"These?"

"N-no."

All seven pair were cast back onto the stack and she finally decided she'd had enough of picking jeans _for _him. Why she hadn't thought to let him pick his own clothes in the first place was beyond her. She sure as hell wouldn't want someone choosing her clothes for her! And she refused to buy something Nero wasn't going to actually wear, knowing damn well that payment from Dante would be near impossible.

"You know what? I'm an idiot," she groaned and Nero looked up at her with a confused frown. "I should just let you pick what you like. How about we try that? Can you pick yourself out seven pairs, Nero?"

"Y-yeah, er, yes…"

"Yeah is fine. Go on, I'll let you look while I go take a peek at the shoes."

Nero dropped his eyes to his feet, shuffling in place as if to test out the boots he was wearing.

"Shoes?" he asked, peeking back up at her worriedly.

"Yeah. Might as well get something for myself while we're here, right? Or…did you need some too?"

"No, my shoes are fine."

"Suit yourself. Seven pair, Nero, I'll be back."

Lady spent nearly forty minutes trying on every shoe she came across that was even remotely cute. She wanted to give Nero space. Despite his dependant nature when it came to Dante, she had a good feeling that he would get more accomplished without her around to make him nervous. By the time she made it back around to the men's section, Nero was standing in almost exactly the same spot with seven pair of identical blue jeans stacked in his arms.

"How…long have you been standing here?" she asked, decided not to question his lack of variety.

"A while?" he mumbled, shrugging lightly.

"Alright fine. These are good? Shirts are next, lets go."

Picking out shirts went a hell of a lot smoother than the jeans. She found that Nero was a fan of solid colors. Blues mostly, navy and the like with a few black ones thrown in the mix. Socks was an even easier venture, leading them to a small snag when it came time to pick out underwear. The mere mention of the subject sent the teen into a fit of blushes and incoherent mumbling that almost made Lady keel over.

"Come on, Nero! They're just boxers! I bet Dante would love to see you in these!" Lady chuckled, holding up a pair of rather silky red boxers.

That got his attention. Nero stopped fumbling around long enough to glance at the garment in awe, eyes wide.

"You…think he would?" he asked, so quietly it was almost a whisper.

"You kidding me? You could put on a paper sack and Dante would love it. You want them?"

He nodded stiffly, reaching out to take the boxers from her with a surprisingly steady hand. So Dante was an easy topic to get him to speak, simple enough. But she couldn't just stand there and talk about him like she normally would. For Nero, Dante was probably a God send. She didn't want to lower his thoughts of the poor old guy just because he was a lazy good for nothing thorn in her wallet.

"You know, Nero, I was a little amazed when Dante told me he was keeping you…" she muttered, picking out a few more pairs that he actually approved of.

"You were?" he asked, his features perking up a bit in curiosity.

"Yeah, I mean, I've never met a guy hornier for girls than Dante. But you…he doesn't shut up about. Guess you got that little something extra, hm?"

She nudged him gently with her elbow and he _actually _cracked a smile.

"See? Is it that hard to just smile?" she asked, watching him blush again.

"No. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, just lighten up a bit! Now that we got you some clothes, how would you feel about some lunch?"

"Lunch sounds pretty good…"

Nero had little tells. Signals that Lady had no trouble picking up on and she wondered if he even realized he was doing it. When he was embarrassed, which seemed to the majority of the time, he would rub the side of his nose almost feverishly. When she suggested something he really didn't care for he would wrinkle his nose for a brief second before shifting his eyes to something else. And when he was scared, he would hug himself, keeping his head down in fear of upsetting anyone. Scared seemed to be the main theme as Lady navigated the crowded mall, Nero towing behind her like a shadow with his head down the entire time.

"Nero? What looks good?" Lady asked, pausing in front of him so suddenly that he bumped into her.

"Huh?" he gasped, righting himself before he dropped the bags he insisted on carrying. "Um, I don't know. I've never been to a mall."

"Never been to a-you know what, never mind. Let's see! Pizza is a _no_, how about we get subs?"

She turned to smirk at him and even though he didn't wrinkle his nose at it, she could tell he wasn't entirely sold on the idea.

"What's it like?" he asked, staring at her seriously.

"Well, it's got meat, cheese, bread, whatever vegetables you want! All the good stuff, I promise."

He shrugged lightly, indicating that he was going to take her word for it. Thankfully the lines weren't insanely long as they waited to order their food. Lady had to take the initiative and order for him considering he just stood there gawking at the cashier in complete terror.

"Nero, what do you want to drink?" she sighed, stopping at the drink station. "Nero?"

"Come on, you should come hang out with us!" a girl giggled, causing Lady's head to whip around quickly.

Nero had been ambushed when she turned her back on him to get their drinks. Two young girls in complete snow bunny gear that looked like it had never been worn were swarming around him like vultures. The taller girl with long auburn hair was tugging on Nero's arm, trying to coax him into going with them, but he just stood there with a petrified look on his face. Rushing over to them, Lady quickly swatted the girl's hand away, pushing herself between them and Nero.

"Hey, get off of him!" she snapped, feeling Nero huddle against her back. "He's spoken for, scram vultures!"

The two girls glared at her, stalking away with scowls on their faces, but Lady really didn't care. Letting out a low growl of frustration she turned back to Nero.

"Man, the whole world is out to get your dick, aren't they?" she huffed, propping her hands on her hips.

He instantly reached up to brush his hand over the side of his nose, dropping his gaze to the floor as he turned five different shades of red. Chuckling at him she linked her arm with his, dragging him over to the drink station. She didn't see what everyone was going crazy over. His behavior was so tragic that Lady wasn't even sure he belonged in society, let alone fit into any kind of relationship. Sure he was _cute_, but looks meant nothing next to financial security to her. They did run a close second though.

Aside from the girls, lunch went by without a hitch. Nero sat across from her at their small table, eating his sub quietly. Trying to find something to talk about was more difficult than she knew it should have been. Nero was so fixated on his food that she had a good feeling he wouldn't hear her talking anyway. But it was worth a shot…

"Nero, you like ice cream?" Lady asked, wrapping up the other half of her sub for later.

Nero's eyes shot up from his empty wrapper, blinking at her in confusion. Pointing across the food court she watched his eyes follow her finger, mouth falling open when he caught sight of the huge double scoop ice cream cones people were walking away with. If that was any indication it was obvious that he _did _like ice cream. Leaving him at the table to watch all the bags, Lady went to get them each a cone, being sure to watch him carefully in case the girls popped back up. Thankfully they had taken the hint and decided to abandon their quest for Nero and moved on to some other poor teenager.

It wasn't until she sat there across from Nero as he ate his ice cream, that Lady finally began to understand _why _Dante liked him so much. Nero looked like a pure, innocent child, chocolate smeared on his face and fingers as he desperately tried to keep the cone from dripping everywhere. She couldn't stop herself from staring at him, completely entranced by just how adorable he really was. It was almost like he was able to charm just about anyone without even trying. How could Dante _not _fall in love with him? Lady found herself wishing she had paid better attention to the address on the tags so that she could go beat the shit out of the woman who'd abused him. Dante certainly couldn't hit a girl, but _she _could.

"I think I get it now," Lady chuckled, licking at her cone slowly.

"Huh?" Nero mumbled, not even glancing up from his ice cream. "Get what?"

"Why people like you so much."

He looked up at her overtop of his cone, licking his chocolate smeared lips. She just laughed at him, pointing to her own lips which were clean and he instantly reached up to wipe his mouth clean with the back of his hand.

"Crap…" he cursed, reaching for one of the napkins to better clean himself.

"You're too adorable for anyone to resist. Come on, lets get you home before half of the mall falls in love with you…"

It was already well into the afternoon by the time they made it back to the office, Nero heaving his bags up the stairs like a kid on Christmas. Dante, of course, was no where to be seen. She knew it was too good to be true. There was no way Dante would have her money when she got back like he had promised.

"Is he up there, Nero?" she called out, flopping down on the old couch.

"No! I don't think he's back yet!" he yelled back.

"Shit…"

* * *

><p><em> Shit<em>. That was exactly what he felt like. A huge steaming pile of crap. It was already dark out and he knew Lady would bitch for days because he wasn't back with her money on time. But at that point, he really didn't care. He had the money and that was all that really mattered in the end.

Trudging through the snow, Dante reached up to run his hand across his nose, sniffing up another glob of blood which he promptly spit onto the slushy sidewalk. Six against one hadn't really been _fair_, but he walked away the victor in the end. He'd known when he accepted the job that there would be trouble collecting payment, but he _had _to do it. With Nero to look after he couldn't afford to be picky about his work if he wanted to keep the kid fed. Now he had a bloody nose, his lip split open again and his entire ribcage felt like it was one fire every time he inhaled. He was going to feel like death warmed over in the morning, no doubt about that.

All the lights were off in the office, meaning Lady had already split for the night. Heaving himself up the short steps to the doors proved just as painful as inhaling. Hissing under his breath he pulled the door open, sliding into the darkened office. Taking a moment to adjust to the dark, he kicked off his boots, cursing as he peeled off his jacket slowly. It wasn't until he was halfway across the office that he noticed the sleeping figure on the couch. Lady had stayed after all, apparently she was determined to get her money. Normally it wouldn't have bothered him, but today he was in too much pain to deal with it.

"Lady…hey!" he snapped, kicking the edge of the couch harshly.

He watched in silence as the brunette jolted awake, searching around the dark room to see what had woken her so abruptly. It took a moment for her two-toned eyes to settle on his face, frowning up at him.

"Damn it, Dante! You scared the hell out of me," she hissed, swinging her legs off the edge of the couch. "You said you would have my money when I got back and you-"

Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out his wallet and slammed the stack of hundreds he'd kicked ass for on the table in front of her.

"That about cover his clothes and a little of what I owe ya?" he sighed as her eyes dropped to the money.

"Y-yeah, but hey… Are you bleeding?" she gasped, peering back up at him.

"G'night Lady…"

Waving his hand at her he started for the stairs. He didn't feel like explaining. All he wanted was to take a _hot _shower and crawl into bed with Nero. Lady, however, was persistent as always.

"You are bleeding! There is blood on this money," she demanded, following him toward the stairs. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it'll wash, right?"

"Dante, wait-"

"Good. Night. Lady. Thanks…"

She finally took the hint, stopping short of following him up the stairs. There were days when her ability to be extremely perceptive helped. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard the door groan open and closed, sighing in relief once he reached the door to his bedroom. Being none too quiet, Dante kicked the door open causing the sleeping teen to sit upright in the bed, stormy eyes trembling in fear.

"Kid, it's me," Dante sighed, shuffling into the room.

"D-Dante? You're back!"

Once his initial fear had worn off, he crawled toward the end of the bed, eyes bright and expectant. It really was like coming home to a new puppy. Except he didn't chew up his shoes. Dante couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of his adorable little Nero gnawing on his boots. It was almost enough to make him forget he was in pain…until Nero spoke again.

"Dante? What's wrong?" he muttered, blinking up at him in confusion.

"Nothin', you get new clothes?"

Nero didn't answer him right away, sitting up on his knees to be closer to Dante's face. He could only hope it was too dark for the kid to make out the blood on his face.

"You're…_hurt_."

The shock in his voice was as plain as the worry in his eyes. Dante knew that he was probably frightened and while he really didn't want to explain, Nero would need more reassurance than Lady. Groaning lightly, he moved to the side of the bed and sat down slowly, wincing when his ribs protested.

"Yeah, ran into a little trouble at the bank," he mumbled, feeling Nero's weight shifting closer to him on the bed.

"The bank? Did it get robbed while you were there? Is that why you were gone for so long?"

"No, I didn't go to the bank," he chuckled, loving how Nero let his imagination create the worst possible scenario. "When I went to go get my money, they really didn't want to part with it. Had six guys waitin' for me."

"You…didn't get the money? Does that mean Lady has to take my clothes back?"

"Hell no, I got my money. They didn't stand a chance."

Reaching down to grab the bottom of his shirt, Dante took a deep breath and tried to pull it up over his head. He hadn't even made it halfway up his body before a stabbing pain shot through his left side causing him to grunt in irritation.

"Dante?" Nero gasped, a warm hand brushing over his shoulder.

"Little help here?" he sighed, tugging at his shirt gently.

He could feel the hesitation in Nero's hands as the teen reached up to grab his shirt. Everything seemed to be going fine right up until the point where he had to lift his arms over his head so that Nero could pull the shirt all the way off. The paralyzing pain that gripped him seemed directed connected to his lungs, causing a loud hiss to escape his throat. Nero quickly jerked the shirt off of his head and Dante collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for air despite the fire that was burning through his abdomen. He could feel Nero scramble off the end of the bed, clicking on the small lamp on his dresser. Dante had to squint to adjust to the sudden brightness, watching Nero as he studied the extent of the damage. He was sure he had a bruised rib, or maybe _five_.

"Dante…you look terrible! Are you sure you're alright?" Nero gasped, rounding the end of the bed to stand by his knees.

"I'll be find," he chuckled softly, arms sprawled out on the covers. "Right after I get a hot shower."

"Your left side is all bruised and _bloody!_ A shower can't fix that! What if your ribs are broken?"

Dante shrugged lightly, opening his eyes all the way to stare at Nero as he leaned down to examine his chest more closely in the light.

"Then I guess you'll have to take care of me until I heal…" he said with a smirk, seeing the petrified frown on Nero's face.

"Take…care of you?"

"Mhmm…"

A strange look that Dante didn't know quite how to pace slowly spread over Nero's face. If he had to guess at it, he would have said the kid looked confused. Rather than tell Nero that he was just joking, Dante decided to just lay there to see what would happen. Nero just stood there by his knees, staring down at him in deep thought for a moment before he suddenly turned to leave the room. Frowning up at the cracked ceiling all he could do was hope he hadn't gone to get him _soup_. It didn't take very long for him to come back, carrying the first aid kit and a rag. For a moment, Dante couldn't even respond, watching Nero stop next to his legs, dropping the kit onto the bed.

"What are you doing, kid?" Dante mumbled, tilting his head up to see what he was up to.

"Taking care of you?" Nero questioned, holding his hand out for Dante to sit back up.

"No. Hurts too much to sit up…"

Before he could even process what was happening, Nero was climbing up over his legs, sitting on his lap to reach his sides. The rag was surprisingly warm, but Dante still found himself shivering as Nero wiped it over a particularly tender spot on his left side. Despite the sharp sting of the rag brushing his skin, Dante wasn't at all concerned with the pain and more concerned with what Nero was doing instead. The uncertainty in his eyes was clear, but he didn't pull away as he gently cleaned the spot on Dante's side. As Nero leaned forward to reach his face, Dante couldn't sit still any longer. The feel of Nero's weight on top of him was just too hard to ignore and while he wanted to keep from forcing the kid into anything, he couldn't stop his hands from grabbing his slender hips.

Nero went rigid at his touch, but after a brief pause he continued his work, wiping the blood away from his nose and mouth. There was a slight flicker in his focused gaze as he fought to ignore what Dante was doing. Keeping a firm grip on his hips, Dante pulled him forward just slightly, causing Nero's hips to rock into his own. The friction was a blissful distraction from the sharp stings of pain. Rubbing his thumbs gently over Nero's hipbones, he pulled him forward again, making the growing bulge in his pants obvious.

"Dante…you're hurt," Nero panted, clenching his eyes shut.

"Am I? That's funny, I don't feel hurt anymore…"

That wasn't exactly the truth, his ribs still ached like hell, but he was easily distracted from it thanks to Nero's body rubbing against him. Nero pulled the rag away from his face, apparently satisfied with the lack of dried blood and immediately tried to climb off of him. Dante however refused to let him go. With Nero sitting upright, it gave him a better angle to grind his hips up into Nero's, causing the teen to gasp and flush a darker shade of red. Dante half expected him to shy away from the situation and call him an old pervert like he usually didn't, but he didn't really seem to care. Part of him wondered if it was just because he was hurt. He would feel guilty if Nero did anything he really wasn't ready for out of pity, but his mind was clouded by lust.

"Dante, let me go. Please," Nero pleaded, staring down at him with a frown.

Cursing himself, Dante slowly pulled his hands away. Nero was obviously still unsure about their relationship and while Dante understood that fact, he was starting to get frustrated. It wasn't Nero's fault, he was just too horny for his own good and lasting nearly a week and a half with no real intimacy was _hard_. No pun intended. All he could do was wait for the frustration to set in when Nero moved away from him.

Instead of the teen sliding off of his lap like he expected him to, he just dropped the rag onto the bed and leaned down to where their noses were just barely touching. There was no chance in hell that Dante was going to question what Nero was doing now. The act of the teen leaning forward, supporting his weight with his hands on the mattress, had helped to grind the undoubtedly sexy teens hips into his own. Now there was a very real war waging between his brain and his dick that was slowly reaching the point of no return. Nero just hovered above him, shifting ever so slightly so that Dante could feel his own arousal pressing against him.

"This really helps with the pain?" Nero asked, pink flooding his pale cheeks.

"No…" Dante demanded, tilting his head slightly.

Nero leaned back slowly, blinking at him in pure confusion. Fighting the pain in his ribs, Dante reached up with his left hand to touch Nero's face and smirked up at the adorable puzzled look in his eyes.

"Not _this_," Dante chuckled, bucking his hips gently up into Nero's. "Just you."

Nero's eyes widened slowly, his cheeks turning a deeper shade of red as Dante's words sank in. He honestly couldn't think of any other person that could be in Nero's place and make him feel quite the way he did. He had brushed off women for less pain, but he wanted Nero right where he was. Or maybe _under _him. Even though he didn't have much faith in his love making abilities in his current state, he would sure as hell give it his all if Nero was willing.

Ever so slowly, Dante leaned up as far as his body would allow, brushing his lips gently against Nero's. At first he didn't expect the teen to respond very much, but as soon as he tried to pull away Nero followed. Their first _real _kiss was hesitant, Nero's lips pressed against his almost as if he wasn't sure what to do. It was painfully obvious that he had no experience at all, but that made it fun. Now Dante would have to teach him everything he knew.

With Nero leaning down it was easier for Dante not to strain himself as he tilted his head ever so slightly, nipping Nero's bottom lip gently. There was no possible way for him to hold back the contented sight that escaped him as the teen opened his mouth obediently, allowing Dante to slip his tongue inside. The fact that he was doing things without really being ordered to meant he was willing. It made the situation more relaxed, knowing that he wasn't forcing anything on the abused kid. He was just too delicate in his current mental state to be man handled.

Trailing his free hand over Nero's chest, Dante gripped the cotton shirt gently, trying to be encouraging while still keeping himself under control. Despite the kid's inexperience, he was a fast learner, struggling feebly to win the battle between their tongues. Nero was the first to concede, pulling away from Dante to stare at him with half lidded eyes. For a brief moment, Dante was seriously considering flipping him onto the bed and just ravishing him, but the brief moment of doubt allowed Nero to slide back off of his lap. It was depressing to say the least and Dante found himself sitting up on his elbows in an attempt to follow him. Before he could even force himself upright through the pain, Nero reached out with trembling hands and latched onto his belt buckle.

Dante's body lurched out of pure shock, causing Nero to look up at him for reassurance. As soon as the initial shock died out, he sat perfectly still, grinning as Nero slowly pulled his belt loose and moved on to the button on his jeans. He wasn't exactly sure how taking his pants off was taking care of him, but Dante sure as hell wasn't going to complain. The sight of Nero's face as he slowly unzipped his jeans was literally breathtaking. Dante couldn't remember how to inhale _or _exhale, gawking down at the blushing teen as he hooked his fingers into the pockets and began to wiggle the fabric off of Dante's body. Without his jeans to contain the raging boner he had, it was painfully how obvious just how frustrated he really was.

As Nero's trembling hands reached up toward the waistband of his black boxers, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to grab him by the wrist. Nero just looked up at him, tilting his head to the side in confusion as Dante tried to find the right words to tell him no without hurting his feelings.

"You don't have to do that," he sighed, gritting his teeth lightly.

"I know," Nero mumbled, dropping his eyes to the bulge in Dante's boxers. "But I _want _to."


	7. Who Belongs To Whom?

He was scared, there was no doubt about that. But only because he wasn't exactly sure about what he should do, only that he wanted to do it. Whatever _it _was. Thankfully he wasn't a complete idiot when it came to sex. Dante had enough dirty magazines stashed around the office to properly educate just about anyone about sex. He just wasn't sure if he was confident enough to pull it off. But he was willing to _try_. He could tell by the way Dante was staring at him, eyes hazed over with lust, that he wanted more than Nero knew how to give and he wanted to return the favors that Dante had done for him. In whatever way possible.

Deciding that it was best not to over think what he was about to do, he grabbed the waistband of Dante's boxers and pulled them off gently. Even though he'd seen Dante naked before, it was different when he was so close. His body was flawless aside from the brand new cuts and scrapes. At first Nero had envied him, but now it was just flat out admiration. Dante was beautiful and Nero felt privileged to belong to him.

Peering up at the older man's face, Nero reached up to wrap his hand around the throbbing length before him. A small thrill jolted through him as Dante's eyes rolled closed, an appreciative groan escaping his lips. Keeping a clear image in his mind of how Dante had so skillfully pushed him over the edge into mind numbing ecstasy, Nero slowly moved his hand up to the tip of his length, biting his bottom lip gently when Dante dropped his head back with another pleasured groan. It was definitely a new experience to be the one _giving _pleasure instead of receiving it. Dante's breaths were coming out in shallow pants, his eyes clenched shut tightly as Nero pumped his hand back down to the base of his erection with a loose grip.

Once he was certain that Dante was actually enjoying the attention, he leaned closer, brushing his tongue gently over the head. Dante's hips bucked suddenly, a loud gasp tearing through the room. Glancing up, Nero saw him staring down at him in shock, his hands clawing at the sheets. When he didn't protest, Nero took it as a sign to continue, wrapping his lips gently around the tip and gave him a light suck. A strong hand flew up to tangle in his hair, causing Nero to pause, unsure of exactly what it meant. Stop? More? Pain? But Dante's fingers were feather light, rubbing against his scalp gently, which he took as a sign to keep going.

Closing his eyes, Nero bobbed his head down, taking just a bit more of Dante's impressive length into his mouth to try and get used to the feeling. He decided that it wasn't at all a bad feeling and was quite amazed that the subtle salty taste wasn't off putting. With Dante's hand encouraging him gently, Nero moved back up the length, running his tongue over the tip quickly before he suddenly dove back down.

"Shit," Dante growled, his fingers gripping his hair a little tighter before they suddenly relaxed.

Never in his life did Nero ever believe he would be where he was, having any kind of sexual relationship with another man, but he couldn't deny that it felt good. Good to know that Dante liked what he was doing. Good to feel loved. He never really thought he was asking for much, but Kyrie wasn't ready to commit. Dante on the other hand, welcomed him with open arms and every pleasured moan that tumbled off of the older mans lips only helped push Nero farther. Before he even realized it, he had taken Dante's entire length into his mouth, feeling the head brushing against the back of his throat as Dante tried to keep his hips still.

"Damn it, Nero," Dante panted, his cock twitching violently inside of Nero's mouth.

At first Nero thought to move, to release his hold on him, but as he glanced up at Dante's face he was too entranced to stop what he was doing. Dante was staring down at him through half lidded eyes, mouth open as he panted Nero's name over and over again. He had caused that, he was the one that was responsible for the state of bliss Dante was in. No mater how unpleasant he thought it might be, he never wanted the look on his face to vanish. Even if it meant doing something he never thought he could do.

"A-ah! Ner-o, s-stop-"Dante gasped, fingers tugging on his hair gently to try and get him to let go, but Nero wasn't budging.

Even though he knew what was coming, the first hot rope that shot down his throat was startling. Dante fell back onto the bed, hips bucking up into his mouth as his orgasm died out slowly. Swallowing out of sheer reflex, Nero detached his mouth from Dante's length and sat up to look at him. The older male was just laying there, staring up at the ceiling, his chest heaving slowly as he came down from his high. For a long while, Nero just watched him as a small smirk formed over his lips, chuckling softly.

"Dante?" Nero muttered, leaning over him. "Your shower?"

"Fuck the shower, I'm not movin'," he sighed, weak arms pulling Nero onto the bed beside him.

"What are you-" Nero squeaked, struggling to get out from under his arms. "At least put your clothes back on! Dante?"

It took him a moment to wiggle out from under the dead weight of Dante's arm, finding the older man had already passed out on him. At first he thought it was a joke, but the longer he sat there staring at him, Dante never moved aside from breathing. Shaking his head in disbelief he grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over their bodies, snuggling into Dante's side. It didn't seem like Dante even noticed he was there until he suddenly grunted in his sleep, rolling to wrap his arms around Nero's waist and pulled him closer. Even in his sleep, he somehow managed to make him feel needed and loved…

* * *

><p>The first thing he was aware of when he opened his eyes, was that the bed was empty. Dante was <em>never <em>out of bed before him and the thought of him just leaving him alone was kind of painful. He'd allowed himself to get so comfortable waking up next to the perverted old man that he almost forgot how fragile their strange relationship was. Sighing, he kicked the blanket off of his body and rolled out of the bed. Hopefully, Dante had just gone to shower.

As Nero pulled his clothes out of the closet, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. Coming up with any excuse possible for why Dante wasn't in bed when he woke up. Lady was usually a good bet, but Nero knew for a fact that she had a job to do and wouldn't be around all day. So it had to be the shower. That or he was just in too much pain to sleep. The scrape on his ribs was already turning purple when Nero had wiped the blood away the night before.

Making his way down the hall he was relieved to hear Dante's voice mingled with the low song that was playing on the old juke box. At first, it sounded like he was singing along with the music, until Nero cut the corner into the bathroom and the song ended, revealing what Dante was _really _saying.

"What the hell are _you _doing here?" Dante snapped, causing Nero to freeze. Who could he be talking to with that much anger in his voice?

"You left your card. Naturally, I am here looking for Nero…"

If it was at all possible for his heart to drop into his stomach, he was certain it did at that very moment. Just hearing her voice sent a tremor of fear down his spine. He never thought in a million years that she would find him, but there was no mistaking that soft voice. Dropping his clothes in the bathroom floor, he moved closer to the landing to hear what they were saying. From his vantage point the could see Dante sitting at his desk, shirtless, with an angry scowl on his beautiful face. There was a long shadow stretched across the floor in front of the desk, like she hadn't moved away from the front doors. If he stepped any farther out, she would see him.

"Just because I left my card doesn't mean you can drop in uninvited," Dante demanded, leaning forward on his desk slowly.

"I wasn't aware that I had to make an appointment to collect my property."

"_Property_?"

Nero could see the shadow shift slightly, almost as if she was fidgeting. Part of him was glad that Dante made her uncomfortable, but he could still hear the venom laced in her sickly sweet voice. She was _angry _and it made him want to curl into a ball and vanish.

"You can't own a person," Dante scoffed. "Maybe you didn't get the memo lady, but they abolished slavery. Like, forever ago."

"Nero has no family. No one _wanted _him, but my family took him in. Cared for him. He needs to come back home. Or do you plan to keep him chained up in this…_filth_?"

"Is that what you did? Chained him up to keep him with you? As you can see, there are no chains here. If Nero wants to go, he knows where the door is," Dante sighed, standing up slowly out of his chair.

"Where is he then? I'm sure that you didn't even bother to tell him you came to see me…"

Dante slowly raised his hand, pointing up toward the landing without taking his eyes off of her. Nero flinched back away from the doorway out of sheer reflex, praying that they didn't call him down. He didn't want to see her face, afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself around her. He _had _loved her at one point, there was no telling how he would react if she asked him to go home with her.

"He's upstairs. I told him everything, ask him yourself," Dante mumbled. "Nero! Get down here, kid!"

No matter how much Nero really didn't want to face her again, he found himself moving out onto the landing, anxious and angry. He wanted to see her, he missed her. And it made him angry. After everything that she had put him through he still wished they could make it work. Wished that things hadn't gone so wrong. She was standing by the doors, wearing a long white coat with fur trim, doe brown eyes peering up at him longingly. _How is she still so damn beautiful?_

"Nero! Come on, it's time to go home," she sighed, smiling up at him softly.

Very slowly, he moved down the stairs, stopping by the end of the couch just staring at her. She didn't look at all different. It had been over a week and she didn't look the least bit worried. He wondered if she could see the difference in him. Whether or not he looked at himself in the mirror, he knew he'd gained weight.

"Wow, nothing about being happy that he's _safe_?" Dante snorted and Nero found himself easily tearing his eyes away from her to look at him. "You don't care if I gutted him, as long as you get him back to keep _you _happy. Way to be a cunt…"

"Of course I'm glad that he is safe. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't concerned."

"Yeah, like you were concerned when you beat him? Or when you denied him food? Whatever game it is you're playin', you can drop it. I know what you've done to him."

Nero's eyes flickered back to Kyrie, waiting for whatever her response was going to be. She was standing almost completely still, frowning over at Dante. Now that Dante brought it to his attention, he was kind of angry that she didn't seem very concerned at all. In fact, she looked rather pissed. He knew, without a doubt, that if he went home with her now that she would punish him. No matter how much he had loved her, he had to realize that the Kyrie he wanted to be with…no longer existed.

"Kyrie…why are you here?" Nero asked softly, still too afraid of her to raise his voice.

Very slowly she turned her head to look at him, blinking almost as if she was amazed that he could speak. She was probably so used to hearing him scream in pain that she had forgotten how his voice actually sounded.

"I'm here to take you home. Let's go, now," she demanded, irritated with him.

"Instead of ordering him around, maybe you should try _asking _him? It should be up to him where he wants to be…" Dante sighed, leaning on the front of his desk. "If he wants to go with you, I'm not going to stop him…"

Despite the bravado in his voice, Nero could see the apprehension on his face. His hands were gripping the edge of the desk so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. He'd probably never admit it, but he looked a little scared.

"Fine, Nero, tell him that you want to go home," Kyrie sighed, shoving her hands into her coat pockets.

"I…am home," he said quietly, refusing to take his eyes off of Dante's face. "This is where I want to be."

He wasn't sure how long Kyrie just stood there staring at him blankly. He wondered at first if it was possible she just hadn't heard him, but she simply nodded once, taking a step back toward the doors.

"Well, I guess there is nothing I can do if this is where you want to stay," she wheezed, turning toward the doors slowly. "But don't come crying to me when he's had enough of your whining. My door won't be open for you."

Nero stood rooted in place, staring at the doors as they closed behind her, trying to fight back the lump that had formed in his throat. Hearing Dante let out a long sigh broke him out of his trance, turning just in time to see Dante walking over to him.

"She was right. About me," he muttered.

"About what?"

"No one wanted me. I got lucky when her family took me in…"

"That's a load of shit."

"What do you mean?"

"I want you…"

He stopped right next to him, reaching out to hook one hand around the back of Nero's neck and pulled him against his chest. Too shocked to react, Nero just stood there, gawking at his bare chest as he planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Nearly gave me a heart attack, kid. I thought you were going to leave with her the way you were staring at her," Dante muttered against his skin.

"I already told you, old man, I don't wanna flinch anymore."

Very slowly Nero wrapped his arms around Dante's body, hugging him tightly. At first he didn't think about the pain he could be inflicting, but before he could let go, Dante's other arm wrapped around his shoulder hugging him just as tightly. It was a strange thought, Dante having abandonment issues. But in that split second that he had given Nero the choice to leave, he could see the anxiety in his eyes. Maybe he would never admit to it, but Nero had seen it none the less. Before it was difficult to believe it, but now he was convinced that it was possible Dante needed him just as much as he needed Dante.

"How about we go take a shower?" Dante whispered and Nero was ripped out of his reverie by a strong hand gripping his ass.

"Damn it! Can't you make it five _seconds _without doing something perverted?" Nero hissed, squirming out of his grasp.

"What are you talking about? That was at least seven seconds before I grabbed you!"

"Whatever, I am going to go take a shower. _Alone_."

"Alright, suit yourself. But you're missing out."

Dante winked at him and he found himself struggling not to smirk as he rolled his eyes, feigning irritation. He knew one way or another, Dante would end up in the shower with him. It just seemed like the old man liked it better when he put up a fight. It was just his way of showing Nero he had a choice, even though they both knew what his choice was going to be…

* * *

><p>"Why the hell are they only playing stupid Christmas specials? This shit is boring!" Dante groaned, flicking through the TV channels with lightning speed.<p>

"Maybe because Christmas is three days away? Just turn the damn thing off if you can't settle on a channel," Lady snapped, sitting a can of soda in front of Nero.

Every chance Lady had, it seemed like she was stopping in to check on them. Dante knew it was just an excuse to keep Nero from drinking beer with him, but Nero really didn't seem to mind her visits anymore, so he didn't care until she started hounding him for money. All three of them were lounging on the couch, picking at the pizza Lady had so graciously added to his debt, Nero curled up against his side between them. The snow had been falling in thick clumps since the night before, coating the world in a bland shade of gray. Christmas was the worst.

"Hey, I got a question," Nero interrupted, halting Dante's channel surfing. "Why are they doing that?"

He pointed at the TV screen where a small family was cutting down a pine tree and dragging it back to their car. Dante glanced down at him, watching him stare at the screen in pure confusion.

"It's a Christmas tree, kid. Why else would they be cutting down a tree?" Dante chuckled, pointing at the family decorating the tree in their living room.

"But I thought only stores did that kind of stuff," Nero mumbled, frowning up at him.

"What? Everyday normal families usually put a tree up in their house for Christmas," Lady scoffed, picking up her beer can. "Don't tell me you've never had a Christmas tree."

The expression on Nero's face shifted from utter confusion to just plain ashamed as he shook his head no slowly. He was sure if it hadn't been for his blatant hatred for the holiday, he would have been shocked.

"Nero, you've _never _had a Christmas tree?" Lady repeated, her jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"No! Credo was never home for the holidays so Kyrie never bothered with it. It's not like _we _exchanged gifts…" he griped, crossing his arms over his chest like a sulking child.

Lady sat forward on the couch, slamming her beer down hard enough to cause Nero to flinch into his lap. Dante wouldn't have complained if Lady didn't looked pissed enough to go on a murder spree. Pulling Nero farther into his lap, he wrapped his arms around the teen in a possessive grip.

"What the hell, Lady? What's got your panties in a bunch?" he asked, laying his head against Nero's shoulder as he tried to squirm free.

"I've had it!"

Nero managed to break free of his grip, scrambling over his lap to sit on the end of the couch as Lady stood up and stormed over to the pool table to grab her jacket.

"Had it with what?" Dante muttered, frowning at her as she made her way over to the front doors.

"With him! I'll be back bright and early, someone _better _be up to let me in."

They both sat staring out the doors as Lady vanished into the frosty afternoon snow storm. After it was obvious that she wasn't coming back, he turned to glance at Nero who looked just as confused as Dante felt over the whole situation.

"What did I do wrong?" he asked, picking at the arm of the couch nervously.

"Nothin'. She always gets touchy around Christmas. Don't worry about it kid…"

"Is it bad that I've never had a Christmas tree?"

"Nah, not really. Christmas is overrated. Just a stupid holiday everyone uses as an excuse to try and show each other up by buying overpriced gifts no one really needs. It's a shit holiday. You're probably better off not even dealing with it."

"It sounds like a lot of trouble…"

"Yep! S'why I don't even bother with it."

Without Lady around, he knew that Nero would be less likely to shove him away, so he flopped over onto his lap smirking up at him. Usually, Nero would glare at him and tell him to get off of him, but this time he just sat there staring off into space. If Dante didn't know any better, he looked downright depressed about the whole ordeal. While he really didn't care for the holiday at all, Nero probably would have thought it was amazing. And just like that, the simple thought of something that would make the kid happy made him start contemplating what kind of gift to get him. There were often times when Dante caught the teen rubbing at the scars on his neck where his old collar had been, almost as if he missed it.

"Hey, kid…" Dante muttered, reaching up to tug at his hair to get his attention.

"Y-yeah? Don't pull on my hair."

"What was the collar before? Before she cut it?"

Nero sat blinking down at him in shock, probably confused as to why Dante was even bringing it up after their little visitor the day before. His stormy eyes shifted to the arm of the couch again, biting his lip nervously.

"It was…suppose to just be a symbol. I belong to this person, sort of thing. Which I liked, until things got weird…" Nero admitted, huffing lightly.

"So it was just a symbol then? Like a ring?"

Nero blushed brightly, reaching up to scratch the side of his nose. It was just downright adorable how he tried to hide his embarrassment and failed every single time.

"Yeah, I guess it was kind of like that. Why?" he mumbled, glancing down at him.

"Just trying to figure it out, that's all. Does it bother you to talk about it?"

"Not…really. I just didn't think you cared about that kind of stuff."

"I care about the things that you like."

"Even if I liked Christmas?"

"Don't push it, kid. You're cute, but not _that _cute."

Nero rolled his eyes, reaching down to brush Dante's hair away from his forehead with a cocky smirk on his face.

"That's bullshit. You act like I'm the hottest thing on the planet. Can't keep your hands off me…"

"Close. You're the second hottest."

"Oh, let me guess, you're the first?"

"Damn straight."

Reaching up to grab his hair again, Dante pulled Nero down gently to place a soft kiss on his lips. He could feel him smirking against his lips, refusing to part his own until Dante nipped him gently. He loved the fact that Nero was slowly becoming more and more brave, denying Dante whatever he wanted every chance he got, only to turn around and submit to him anyway. He was making Dante work for the affection and the line of who belonged to who was slowly starting to turn a little hazy. And he couldn't really complain.

When Nero finally pulled away from him, he made no attempt to get away, his fingers combing through Dante's hair gently. He hated to admit it, but Nero was a close contender for his number one spot. When he wasn't cowering in fear of Lady, he actually reminded Dante a lot of himself at that age. Aside from the bashfulness. Nero was cocky and unpredictable, not to mention quite the little fighter. The few punches that Dante had taken from the kid, both playful and serious, were quite powerful despite his weak body.

"We should go take a nap," Dante yawned, burying his face against Nero's stomach.

"And by nap, you mean let's go keep Nero awake by tormenting him?" Nero scoffed, still petting his hair.

"You said it," he smirked, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Not me…"

"Look at you, you're already falling asleep! Can't even make it to the bed, old man?"

"Not my fault you're so comfy. Now that you're actually eating, you're all soft!"

"Am I a pillow now?"

"The best kind…"

Nero didn't complain, petting Dante's hair like he was a lap dog and before he realized it, it was becoming impossible to keep his eyes open.

* * *

><p><em> There was a dull throb along the back of his skull that he knew was the start of a killer headache. He had invaded her personal space without her permission. The fact that she was cooking meant the heavy ceramic dish she was holding in her hands collided with the back of his head without warning. As usual after every other time she had hit him, she apologized, but it never really felt sincere thanks to the smirk on her pretty face. He'd only wanted to ask her if could have one of the bottled waters in the fridge when his hand brushed her arm prompting the attack.<em>

_ Now he lay on his little pile of blankets on the floor next to her bed, trying to decided if he should sneak out to get the water or not. Kyrie was fast asleep on the bed above him, her hand dangling off the side of the mattress over his head. If he was quiet, he could make it out and back again before she realized he was gone. The only problem was the bottle. She no doubt kept a strict count on them, ensuring he didn't take one without her knowing. He would have been content to just steal a drink from the faucet, she couldn't really keep count on that._

_ Taking a deep breath, he shifted sideways off of his pile and rolled against the wall, pausing to be sure she hadn't budged. As he slowly sat up he could see she was still breathing softly, completely un-phased by his movements. It wasn't until he was crawling halfway across the floor that he realized how completely ridiculous his entire life was now. He was sneaking out of his so called girlfriends bedroom to get a drink of water! He shouldn't have to ask permission to get something to drink, people needed water to live and he was no different._

_ Climbing to his feet, he glanced back at the sleeping girl on the bed. She had no idea that he was up. There would be no way she would catch him if he just took off. Then he remembered that he had nowhere to go. There was no one to take him in aside from the strangely sadistic beauty laying before him. If her family hadn't taken him in, where would he be? There was a chance he could have been adopted by a nice happy family and lived a peaceful life. Or there was a very good chance he that he could have ended up some place far worse. His life with Kyrie and her brother hadn't been all bad. He loved her, after all. That was all he had to keep telling himself. He loved her and she was bound to see it sooner or later. He had convinced himself that he was strong enough to handle anything she threw at him and he wasn't about to give up now._

_ Navigating the dark house was second nature to him, he'd memorized where every end table and corner was, avoiding making a single creek as he shuffled up to the sink in the kitchen and turned the faucet on to a silent drizzle. Holding his hand under it, he waited patiently for his palm to fill up before he brought it to his lips and gulped down the cool liquid greedily. Returning his hand under the faucet he began to devise a plan to get Kyrie to relax. Things like food and water restrictions had to go, there was just no way around that. Surely if he brought it to her attention exactly what she was doing to him, she would understand that she was being unreasonable._

_ In the middle of gulping down another palm full of water, the kitchen light suddenly clicked on behind him and he wheeled around so quickly that he flung water all over the kitchen. Kyrie was standing in the archway of the kitchen, her long white nightgown practically glowing against her fair skin. He couldn't see her face due to the fact that he head was tilted down, but he wasn't so concerned with her face as he was with her _hand_. She was holding the long, thin bamboo back scratcher that usually hung on the key rack in the hallway. Normally she used it to pull down boxes from high shelves, but he could tell by her grip on it that it was now a weapon to be feared._

_ "K-Kyrie…" he gasped, grasping behind himself blindly to turn off the faucet as if she somehow wouldn't notice what he was doing._

_ "It's late Nero. What are you doing?" she muttered in a tone that made him wonder if she was actually awake or not._

_ "I didn't want to wake you, I'm sorry…"_

_ The second that the words were out of his mouth he wanted to hit _himself _in the face. He was tired of apologizing for doing nothing wrong. Tired of cowering. Tired of _bleeding_. But that didn't stop him from dropping to the cold tile floor as the thin strip of wood snapped across his bare chest. By the time his brain even registered the unbearable sting, another snap across his back sent him curling into a helpless ball on the floor. No matter how much he shouted at himself to fight back, it was drowned out by the wet snaps of the back scratcher on his skin. He'd lost count of how many times she'd actually hit him before he forced himself to look up at her face to see her smiling down at him as she beat him senseless._

"Nero! Kid, wake up!"

The feeling of hands on his body caused him to instantly try to lurch back to avoid any potential pain. He was still stuck between the memory of the burning snaps and the warm hands on his wrists. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to tell what was the memory and what was real.

"Nero, open your eyes. _Look _at me!"

The sound of Dante's voice flicked on a switch in his brain, reminding him that he didn't live with Kyrie anymore. He was _safe _with Dante. He had to force himself to open his eyes despite the fear of seeing the smirk on Kyrie's face. And there was Dante, leaning over him with a pained look on his face as his hands kept Nero from thrashing around on the couch.

"Dante?" he gasped, realizing he was panting.

"Hey, there you are. You ok?"

Nero nodded stiffly as Dante slowly sat up, releasing his grip on his wrists. He absently wondered how Dante had ended up straddling him on the couch when he was sure he'd fallen asleep sitting up while Dante napped in his lap. While he tried to catch his breath, Dante reached down to brush his hand across his cheek. He didn't even realize he was crying until he felt Dante brushing the tears away.

"You were screaming. What were you dreaming about?" Dante muttered, pulling him upright on the couch.

"I don't remember," he wheezed, shaking his head trying to erase the memory from his brain.

"Look, Nero, you don't have to worry about her anymore. It's just me and you now."

"I know, I'm not-it just-I can't…"

"C'mere."

Dante slid off of him slowly, pulling him up off of the couch and toward the stairs. He felt very much like a child being tucked into bed as Dante lead him to his bedroom. Dante had weird moments of extreme tenderness where he would push all the perverted tendencies he normally reverted to and just _held _him. He had a way of making things better without actually talking about it. Which was easier. All he had to do was keep reminding himself that his old life was over. To focus on getting back to as normal a routine as possible and just keep moving forward.

"Dante," Nero whispered, curling up against his chest.

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

The older man chuckled, nuzzling his chin into Nero's hair.

"Go to sleep, kid. And have naughty dreams about _me_."

He couldn't help but chuckle, clinging to Dante's shirt as he slowly started to drift back to sleep. Confident that he could brush off anymore nightmares as long as he knew Dante would be there waiting for him when he opened his eyes.


	8. You Can't Own A Heart

The tree was stupid, all of the silver tinsel in the bags on the couch were just going to make a mess. There was overwhelming stench of cinnamon that burned his nose and throat every time he took a breath. He _hated _Christmas. Every tiny little detail. Except the look on Nero's face. He was like a child seeing the sun for the very first time as he helped Lady set the huge pine tree into it's stand. He could deal with it if only to see that look on his face…

"So, normal families do this every year for Christmas?" Nero asked, holding a string of lights while Lady threaded them onto the tree.

"Typically. We never put one up here because it's just Dante and me most of the time. But now that you're here, maybe he'll get out of this funk about Christmas."

Dante snorted at the hopeful look on her face. He knew exactly why she liked Christmas so much. It just so happened to be that their feelings toward the holiday season all revolved around the exact same person. She was celebrating a memory while he was sulking from the abandonment. Just thinking about it put him in a bad mood.

"Dante, how come you don't like Christmas? Is it because you never have any money?" Nero asked, tilting his head back to stare at him.

Dante was propped up at his desk, leaning back in his chair and just shrugged. There was no way he could miss the glimpse of Lady smacking Nero on the arm gently, shaking her head no. She didn't want Nero asking to avoid brining anymore tension into the room.

"I told ya already, kid. It's a stupid holiday that lost any real meaning when they decided to turn it into a pissing contest. Gifts don't measure how much you care about someone…"

He closed his eyes quickly when he realized Nero was frowning at him. He was sure Nero hadn't got him a gift due to the fact that the kid literally didn't have a penny to his name, but maybe he was wrong. The look that he'd given him certainly suggested that he had gotten him something and now he was afraid to give it to him. _Way to crush his hopes, Dante… _Sighing softly to himself, he tried to block out the sound of Nero and Lady decorating the tree to the point where he was falling in and out of consciousness.

"Dante! You hear me?" Lady snapped.

"Huh?" he gasped, catching himself as he nearly toppled backwards out of his chair. "What?"

"I said, if you're going to nap go upstairs! We need the desk," she snapped again, looming right next to him.

"If I go to bed, I'm takin' Nero with me…"

"Nice try, I hired him to help me do all my gift wrapping. Move your ass!"

A hand collided with the back of his head, causing him to jerk upright out of shock. His entire desk was now framed with sparkling green and silver garlands, little confetti Christmas trees and snowflakes dusted over every able surface, _including _his pool table. A huge, _ugly _wreath perched in the middle of his weapon wall. Gritting his teeth, he tried to stay calm as he slid out of his chair and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket off of the coat rack as he passed.

"You two _do _realize that I'm not cleanin' this shit up, right?" he huffed, waving his hand at them before he vanished through the doors into the snowy afternoon.

Knowing that he couldn't take Nero with him made the nap seem pointless. He didn't want to admit it, but he actually slept easier with someone else in the bed. But at the very least, even though he hated the holiday, he was glad that he wouldn't be sleeping alone on Christmas. _Again_.

* * *

><p>"Ok, good!" Lady huffed, pulling a black bag over to Dante's desk. "Now that the village idiot is gone, we can wrap these gifts in peace!"<p>

There was no hiding the fact that he was a little less than excited after hearing Dante's obvious hatred for the holiday. Lady had convinced him that it was fine to celebrate it anyway, but now he wasn't so sure. It wasn't as if he had any money to buy Dante a gift in the first place, but that didn't change the fact that he secretly wanted to. Dante was convinced that the holiday was just a shallow tradition, but Nero wanted to believe that there was some love in the act of choosing a gift for someone special. Then again, he had been wrong before.

"Nero, come on. You said you would help!" Lady sighed, stacking rolls of wrapping paper on the desk.

"Sorry, it's just, should we really do all of this?" Nero mumbled, moving to help her arrange the gifts to be wrapped. "He doesn't seem to happy about it at all."

"That's just Dante. Even though he hates the holidays, it's not really because of the holiday itself. He would want you to have this."

"Can't you just tell me why he hates it so much?"

She glanced up at him with a pair of scissors in her hand, paused in the middle of cutting the wrapping paper before her. If he knew what it was that made Dante so upset, he could avoid bringing it up to get through the day with as little anger as possible. There would be no way he could enjoy the celebration if Dante was mad the entire time.

"Dante doesn't like Christmas because he's always alone. I visit, but I'm not _family_, you know? You know he's an orphan?"

Nero nodded as Lady whispered across her work, wrapping a box of strawberry scented soap bars.

"Well, his only family after he lost his parents was his brother," she sighed, eyes tight with an emotion he couldn't place.

"Where is he now?"

"Gone."

The word hit him like a ton of bricks to the chest. Dante had a brother that had died. It all made perfect sense now. Why Dante didn't care about gifts, why he hated that people only looked at the quality of presents rather than the family aspect that was really all that should have mattered. Dante was alone in the world, just like him.

"O-oh…" Nero breathed, ducking his head down to grab the tape.

"Look, don't dwell on it, ok? He has you this year and I have a feeling he's going to like this Christmas," Lady chuckled, pulling a black box out of the bag.

"Why? I can't make that better for him."

"Yes, you can. I've seen him smile more in these last few weeks than I have in a long time, Nero. You give him a reason to get out of the bed and do something with his life. And there's this…"

She held the box out to him, continuing her work once he took it from her. The weight of the box was a little startling as he adjusted his grip to open the lid, gawking at the gorgeous gift inside. He'd seen the gun sitting in a glass case of one of the specialty shops he and Lady had passed by on their shopping trip. Credo had taught him a good deal about weapons, but guns were something he never really approved of despite the fact that he used one on a daily basis. Snapping the lid closed, he looked up at Lady, shocked to see the smirk on her face.

"This is-_when_?" he gasped.

"I saw you staring at it, so I took the liberty of buying it. Give it to him."

"What? No! This thing had to cost a fortune. I don't have any money Lady!"

"Christmas isn't about the money, remember? It's about the _love_. Besides, he's already gotten a gift for you."

"He…did?"

"He want's you to have a nice Christmas. And I know if you give him that, he'll love it."

Of course he wanted to argue about it, but the look on her face told him to just shut his trap and deal with it. Before he could come up with a valid reason for her to return the gun, it was already wrapped in the metallic ruby wrapping paper and tied with a black satin ribbon. Seeing it all wrapped up make him feel a little better about the whole ordeal. If he didn't think about what was actually inside, all he could see was how perfectly _Dante _the gift looked. Now he just had to pray that Dante wouldn't hate him for it.

By the time Nero had helped Lady wrap all of the gifts, his poor fingers were covered in fine paper cuts. He sat on the couch, licking at the small beads of blood that had collected until Lady swatted his hand away from his mouth. He'd quickly learned that whenever Lady hit him it was almost too gently to even feel. It didn't take him as long as he thought it would to break himself of flinching every time she raised her hand or moved too quickly. They'd developed an older sister, younger brother relationship that he was actually quite comfortable with.

"Don't lick at them like some kind of wounded dog. Here, put band-aids on them," she groaned, dropping a box of bandaged beside him on the couch.

"Sorry, just trying to keep the blood off of the furniture," he grumbled as he grabbed the box.

"I'm sure there's been worse things than blood on that couch…"

"Sick."

When the office doors groaned open, Nero glanced up from his wounded fingers to see Dante trudging in out of the snow. His pale cheeks were red from the cold, shaking a thin layer of snow off of his jacket as he shut the doors behind himself and kicked off his boots. At first it seemed like he was just going to ignore them both as he marched across the floor until he caught sight of Nero bandaging his fingers. Pausing next to the pool table, Dante glanced over at the decorated tree, littered with presents underneath.

"You said you were having him help wrap the presents, not cut the paper with his fingers," Dante huffed, glaring over at Lady.

"It's not my fault he's clumsy when it comes to folding paper. He'll live. Where did you take off to?"

"Anywhere but here. Then I realized the rest of the damn city is doing the exact same shit."

Nero sank farther into the couch as Dante continued past, stomping his way upstairs and slammed whatever door he had gone through. Lady sat beside him on the couch, reaching over to pat him on the shoulder softly.

"It's not you, just remember that. Once the holiday is over, he'll be back to normal," she sighed, peeling open another band-aid for him.

"I hope you're right…"

* * *

><p>Dante had the distinct feeling that maybe he'd laid it on a bit too thick. Nero never came to bed. He'd gotten up in the middle of the night to make sure the teen hadn't split on him, only to find him curled up in a ball of blankets on the couch. At first he thought about carrying him to bed, but he couldn't bring himself to risk waking him. The peaceful look on his face was just too adorable to disturb.<p>

Instead he used the opportunity to sneak his gift under the tree, trying not to let his eyes wander to the other boxes in case he saw his name. When he had taken off while they were wrapping gifts, he'd gone on a mission to find Nero the perfect gift. As much as he hated the idea, he couldn't squash the undying urge to get the kid something. And when he made it back with what he had deemed to be the perfect gift, he feigned irritation to keep him and Lady away long enough to wrap the damned thing. Which he failed miserably at, the entire box looked lopsided thanks to his terrible wrapping skills. He was more suited for kicking ass, not tying bows.

But that had backfired on him. Now he lay in bed, staring out the window at the rising sun, trying to ignore the cold seeping through the worn out panes. Apparently Nero had taken his irritation to heart and now he just felt bad. He didn't want to be the one to ruin the kid's first real Christmas. Forcing himself up out of bed, he pulled on the nearest pair of jeans he could reach and a long sleeved black zip up shirt Lady had bought him last Christmas. The cold was certainly _not _helping his mood.

He made it halfway down the stairs when Nero's head suddenly popped up over the back of the couch, peering at him hopefully. Dante forced a small smile as he shuffled around the corner of the couch and flopped down at his feet. For a moment he sat there staring at the fuzzy TV screen that was playing another stupid Christmas special silently. Nero was watching TV in silence to keep from waking him up. Sighing heavily he suddenly dove under the blankets, crawling up the couch to lay on top of the flailing teen.

"D-Dante! What are you-" Nero squeaked, holding his arms above his head as Dante settled down on top of him, laying his head on the teen's chest.

"S'cold," he mumbled quietly, hugging Nero tightly.

"Yeah, it snowed another three inches last night."

"You never came to bed. Why?"

Nero shifted uncomfortably under him, his blue eyes darting toward the TV as Dante tilted his head back to stare up at him. He honestly looked a little ashamed about the fact, but he just shrugged his shoulders, propping his elbows up on the arm of the couch.

"Thought you wanted some space. You seemed pretty pissed yesterday…" Nero admitted, reaching up to scratch the side of his nose with his bandaged fingers.

"What time did Lady leave?"

"Like, ten? I don't remember, kept falling asleep during Rudolph."

"Stupid fucking deer."

"Reindeer."

"Same damn thing…"

He could feel Nero shift under him again like he was trying to flip Dante off of him, but he absolutely refused to budge. He'd suffered an entire night without him cuddled up next to him, there wasn't a chance in hell he was letting go now. Wrapping his arms around Nero's stomach, he hugged him tightly, refusing to let go.

"Stop squirmin'," he hissed, nuzzling his face into his shirt.

"I can't help it, your fat ass is crushing me! I can't breath…" Nero gasped, wiggling violently.

Grunting, he rolled off of him with his back against the couch without letting go. Now they were laying face to face on the couch, half buried in Nero's cocoon of blankets. Dante couldn't help but smirk as Nero blushed wildly, trying to pry Dante's arms off of his body.

"C'mon, old man! Le'go!" Nero whined.

"No. You didn't come to bed so this is your punishment. You gotta lay here with me _all _day."

"Fine, but you could at least let me get comfortable! You're crushing my ribs…"

Dante narrowed his eyes at the teen dangerously, daring him to try and run.

"You try and get away and Lady is going to walk in on something very awkward…" he demanded, slowly removing his arms from Nero's flailing body.

"It's Christmas Eve! Can't you stop being a pervert for _one _day?" Nero griped, flipping around so that his back was pressed against Dante's chest.

"I don't recall being that much of a pervert yesterday. You spent the _whole _day with Lady. I'm jealous…"

"She wanted to decorate the office for you."

Dante scoffed, wrapping his arms around Nero's waist despite his protests, nuzzling his face against his shoulder.

"For _you_, not me. She knows I hate this crap," he muttered, peeking up to see Nero's red cheeks darken the moment he tightened his hold.

"Well, maybe this year, you could not hate it so much?"

"Would you like that? For me not to hate the holidays."

"I just want everyone to be happy. I'm tired of all the anger and fighting."

"Well, as long as you lay here with me and keep me warm, I'll try not to be angry…"

Nero nodded stiffly, snuggling down under the blankets to where they could both see the TV clearly. Even without the sound on, Dante knew exactly what was happening with the supposedly loveable characters on the screen. He'd seen them all a million times with his brother. It used to be one of their favorite things to do during the holidays. Watch Christmas specials and dream about the days when their holidays were spent in actual happiness. But as they grew older, his brother lost the need to remember the good times. All that he ever focused on was the negative aspects of their broken childhood and it left him bitter and hateful. Dante had sworn that he would never turn out like his brother and yet there he lay. Groaning internally over the bad instead of enjoying the good that was currently cuddled against him.

It wasn't so bad. Spending a lazy day on the couch with the kid, only leaving the warmth of their little cocoon for bathroom breaks and hydration. Dante even caught himself smirking at the movie about the grumpy neglectful father turned into a fat jolly St. Nick against his will. He tried to lie to himself and demanded that it was just because of the cute way Nero's nose wrinkled when he laughed, but he knew what it really was deep down. He missed Christmas. He missed being able to spend it with the people that mattered the most. Lady was practically family and she always made it a point to stop by despite how much they argued, but she had her own dysfunctional family to deal with.

And speak of the devil… The doors to the office slowly wedged open and Nero quickly wiggled out from under the blankets to help her heave the bags of food in. Dante tried not to frown as Nero abandoned him to help her, but Lady was letting cold air in and his heater was gone.

"Don't tell me you two have been lazing around on the couch all day!" Lady huffed, sitting one of the bags on the coffee table in front of him.

The fact that the tantalizing smell of food wasn't wafting out of that particular bag made him intrigued. Sitting up slowly, he kicked the blankets off of his legs to check the bag before Lady suddenly slapped his hands away.

"What was that for?" he snapped, glaring at her. "It's Christmas Eve, we should be allowed to laze around and watch TV!"

"Well you two should have at least opened the gifts! I'm amazed Nero hasn't torn them all open yet…" she huffed reaching into the bag.

"I told him we had to wait for you. He'd been after them all morning."

"Have not! Stop lying, old man!" Nero griped, sitting the other bags on Dante's desk.

Lady just shook her head, pulling a six pack of beer up out of the bag, passing it to Dante. He wasn't sure what the point of slapping him was if she was just going to turn right back around and give it to him anyway. But he wasn't about to argue. Pulling one of the cans away from the pack he cracked it open, taking a long drink as Nero set out the food on his desk. Lady always brought him food from her family dinner, even if he'd rather just eat pizza. But he knew that Nero was actually looking forward to something other than day old pizza.

Lady moved across the office, ignoring Nero who was busy picking ham off of one of the plates and grabbed the nearest gift under the tree. Dante watched her carefully as she marched up to Nero and held the square package wrapped in blue out to him.

"Merry Christmas, Nero," she sighed, smirking at him as he gulped down a slice of ham and pulled the gift out of her hands.

"T-thank you. When did you wrap this?" he mumbled, turning the box over in his hands.

"While you were sleeping. Open it!"

Nero grinned at the box, tearing the paper off hurriedly. By the time he'd managed to get to the box he looked so ecstatic. Dante couldn't help but chuckle at him as he pulled the gift free of the box. It was just a dark navy blue scarf, but Dante could have sworn that it was made of gold as happy as he looked. He had a good feeling that Lady could have given Nero an empty box and he would have been just as thrilled. _That _was what Christmas should have been about.

"Awesome! This is perfect for all the damn snow we keep getting! Thanks, Lady," he gasped, tying the scarf tightly around his neck.

"You're welcome. Here Dante, open yours!"

Lady tossed another gift at him suddenly enough that he almost dropped his beer tying to catch it. He unwrapped the gift lazily, finding a surplus of strawberry oatmeal bars of soap inside. He wasn't sure if he was suppose to eat it or bathe with it, but he liked strawberries so he was happy. He was hardly aware of the silence filling the room until he felt the couch shift next to him and looked over to see Nero holding a large gift wrapped in red and black. He looked rather nervous, picking at the black ribbons as if he was unsure of what he was suppose to do with it.

"Nero?" Dante mumbled, hiking his eyebrows up in confusion.

"I k-know you really don't like Christmas or gifts, but I-I got this for you," he stammered, passing the box to Dante hesitantly.

At first he wasn't sure if he should take it, but with Nero's hands trembling and Lady staring at them expectantly, he couldn't refuse. The sheer fear in Nero's eyes made his throat run dry, gulping as he pulled the gift out of his shaking hands. The box was heavy, the sudden influx in weight forcing him to sit his beer aside to hold onto it properly. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he was anxious to open a gift, it was actually kind of _exciting_.

Rushing to peel the paper off, he reached for the lid of the black lacquered box inside and popped it open. For a long moment, his breath caught in his chest, staring down at the intricate firearm laying in the velvet lining before him. The revolver had to be one of a kind. Double barrels stacked on top of one another, with detailed vines etched into the metal and a small blue rose emblem embedded under the trigger. It was, in every sense of the word, _beautiful_.

By the time he was able to force his eyes away from the gun, Lady was standing before them, holding the shoddily wrapped gift Dante had snuck under the tree for Nero. There was no hiding the sheer dread that passed over his features as he suddenly realized his gift was just plain stupid. Nero took the gift from Lady, glancing over at him expectantly.

"For me?" he asked, as if the box didn't have his name on it.

"Y-yeah. It's not much. I mean-it's not _this_," Dante admitted, but Nero didn't seem to care.

He tore the lopsided paper off of the box almost viciously, eyes bright with excitement as he reached the blue box within. It made Dante cringe, thinking he wouldn't like his gift at all. He never thought that it might bring back bad memories for the teen as he watched Nero peel the box open, frowning slightly at it's contents.

"I will take it back," Dante muttered immediately. "If you hate it. Get you something else."

Very slowly Nero lifted his gift out of the box, turning the navy blue leather collar over in his hands, tracing the bright red stitching carefully. The buckle was embellished with a silver rose just like the buckle on the kid's jacket and belt. He'd gone through a lot of trouble to make sure it was perfect, not realizing that the gift itself was probably offensive to begin with.

"I had the guy who custom makes my holsters make it for me. Like I said, it's not much," Dante sighed, wishing Nero would just _say _something.

Dante kept stealing glances at him as he turned the tags attached to the collar over in his hands. How could he have forgotten about the _stupid _tags he'd put on the damned thing? One black tag with just Nero's name, the other with a small message. There was no chance in hell that Dante was going to put the address of the office on it. And while he wasn't the best with words, he thought it was perfect at the time. Now? Not so much.

"What does it say?" Lady asked, snatching the collar out of Nero's hands. "You can't own a heart, only love it?"

Inside he wanted to just die and get it over with. Lady passed the collar back to Nero with a wide grin, grabbing a beer of her own as Dante forced a smirk onto his lips. Nero still hadn't said a word and Dante was quickly losing his patience with the situation. Just as he was about to reach over and pull it out of the teen's hand, Nero pulled the scarf off of his neck, unbuckled the collar and lifted it up to fasten it around his neck loosely. And then…he smiled.

"Thank you. I like it, a lot," he chuckled, playing with the tags.

"You really like it? Cause if ya don't, I'll take it back," Dante demanded, refusing to make him wear something he didn't like.

"No, I like it! I might not wear it everyday, but I like it. Is that ok?"

"It's your gift, kid. Do whatever you want with it…"

Dante slowly pulled the gun out of it's case, flicking the chamber open to marvel at it. He could tell Nero was watching him, but the excitement he felt was in no way forced for his sake. Nero knew that Dante was a weapon collector and while he really wanted to shoot the beautiful gun in his hand, he didn't want to risk harming it in anyway. It was going straight to the wall right behind his desk so that when he leaned back in the chair, it would be the first thing he'd see. Nero's Blue Rose.

"You like it?" Nero asked, watching him in fascination.

"Are you kidding me? This thing is a beast! Where the hell did you find it?"

"Specialty shop downtown. I saw it when I was helping Lady shop…"

"Alright, I'll admit it. This Christmas hasn't been _so _bad."

Lady clapped her hands together, passing a closed can of beer to Nero who just glanced up at her as if it was some kind of trick. Dante himself was sure it was kind of a cruel joke, but she just shoved the can into Nero's hand anyway.

"It's a time for celebration! I'll allow it today," she chuckled when Nero just gawked at her in confusion.

When he was sure that she wasn't going to take it back, he quickly cracked the can open and nearly guzzled it. Dante just laughed at him, grabbing his half empty can and made his way over to his desk to make room for his new gun. He wasn't sure how long it actually took him to make room for the ridiculously awesome revolver, but he could remember Nero passing him several more beers throughout the process. Lady spent the better part of the time fighting with his temperamental juke box until she managed to force it to play the record she wanted. And now Dante sat at his desk, picking at the food as he watched Lady and Nero fight with the confetti on the pool table to play a game. It was slightly amusing to watch Nero actually beating her at her own game. She just stood there with her pool cue keeping her upright, glaring at Nero in pure anger.

"How the fuck? Are you like a pool shark or somethin'?" Lady snapped, watching Nero practically run the table despite the confetti hindrance.

"No? I dunno? Maybe…" Nero snorted, leaning over the end of the pool table to take another shot.

"S'bullshit! You're cheatin'!"

"How the hell do ya cheat at pool?"

Dante snorted, almost choking on his beer as Lady proceeded to chase Nero around the pool table like a dog chasing it's tail. They kept going round and round, never getting any closer or farther away from one another. It was, arguably, one of the best Christmas seasons he'd had in a long time. And that was saying something considering he couldn't really recall the last good Christmas he'd had. Only the bad ones.

"Alright! I'm done watching you two play cat and mouse! Shit's makin' me dizzy!" Dante huffed, picking himself up out of his chair slowly.

Truthfully, he was just starting to get jealous that Nero was spending all of his time frolicking around the office with Lady. At first it was cute and now he just felt neglected. The constant views of Nero bending over the pool table wasn't helping either. Not with a steady stream of alcohol limiting his brain to one train of thought at a time. It was only an hour until Christmas day and Dante was determined to be in bed with Nero before the clock hit midnight. No matter what it took.

By the time he had managed to chase the half drunken woman out of the office into a cab, Nero had settled down on the couch, wrapped back up in his cocoon of blankets. Dante wasn't sure if he should give the poor kid any kind of warning as he locked the office doors and turned to face him. Then again, it would be more fun to let him figure it out on his own…


	9. A Very Merry Christmas Indeed

Dante was happy. Or at least that was how it had seemed at first. After he had practically kicked Lady out, he locked the front doors and just stood there. _Staring _at him. Nero's brain was far too fuzzy to make sense of exactly what the look meant, he just prayed that Dante hadn't gotten fed up with him already. All he could do was fidget on the couch, trying to think of something to say to break the tension in the air.

"Well, that was fun, huh? I actually beat Lady at pool," Nero chuckled nervously, hoping to at least earn some praise.

"Yeah, you did. Too bad you didn't bet any money on the game," Dante muttered quietly.

"I don't have any money…"

"No, you don't, do you?"

Nero shook his head silently, watching Dante closely as he eyed him from across the room. Whatever he was doing, it was starting to seriously creep him the fuck out.

"Dante-"

"It's late and I'm tired. All of this jolliness wore me out."

"O-oh… Let's go to bed then?"

Dante nodded his head stiffly, reaching over to click off the lights. As Dante slowly made his way over to the juke box, Nero untangled himself from his blankets and clicked off the TV. Then instantly whished he hadn't. The entire room was plunged into darkness, leaving Nero grasping around blindly for anything to steady himself with. He had a very strange suspicion that Dante didn't have the same issue with the darkness that he was having. He could hear him creaking around the office behind him, causing him to wheel around in an attempt to locate him.

"Dante?" he huffed, wishing his eyes would adjust already. "Where are you?"

"Right here."

Nero's body lurched as the voice echoed right next to him, strong arms wrapping around his chest. Dante's hands clung to his clothes, refusing to let him go without tearing something or breaking a bone. Neither of which sounded like a particularly good scenario in his alcohol hazed brain. Nero reached out, pushing his palms against Dante's chest, trying to push him away. But it was a feeble attempt. He could tell by the way Dante's hands held him in a gentle embrace what was running through the older man's brain. That kind of touch usually meant that Nero was going to end up squirming under those strong hands, begging for some kind of relief.

"D-Dante, I thought we were going to bed?" Nero stammered, clenching his eyes shut as Dante's hands roamed down his back slowly.

"Oh, we are. Unless you'd rather stay down here on the couch," he purred, sending chills down Nero's spine.

"That's not…what I meant!"

Dante chuckled darkly, lips pressing against Nero's neck causing his eyes to fly open out of shock. While he was certain that Dante hadn't had enough beer to be completely wasted, he was sure acting like it. Hands grasping at Nero's body clumsily, tugging at his clothes as if he wanted to tear them off. Nero was having a difficult time forming a coherent train of thought as Dante nipped and licked his neck below the collar. While some part of him knew he should tell Dante to stop, he couldn't bring himself to tell him no.

And just like so many of their little romps, it was over before it really began. Dante's hands vanishing from his body as if they'd never been there to begin with, leaving Nero trembling like a leaf. He wanted to yell at the older male for teasing him all the time, but he realized that it was probably just because Dante knew that Nero was clueless when it came to intimacy. As his brain slowly began to fill with fear over how two men were expected to go at it, he was caught off guard by Dante's arms scooping him up off of the floor.

"What the-" he squeaked, flailing as he was cradled against Dante's chest. "Put me down, old man!"

Dante didn't respond past the evil smirk that spread across his lips. Nero wished his eyes hadn't adjust just in time to see the hungry expression. It made his stomach tingle in a weird way he wasn't sure he liked. Dante didn't even glance down at him as he scaled the steps, frosty eyes staring off into the distance like he wasn't even there anymore. Yet no matter how hard Nero thrashed around in his arms, he couldn't break free.

When Dante rounded the corner into his bedroom, he plopped Nero onto the bed, causing him to flail trying to right himself. But as soon as he made it upright, Dante's hands were tugging on the hem of his shirt, pulling it up over his head roughly. As soon as he opened his mouth to demand what the hell Dante was doing, the older man covered his mouth with his own, slipping his tongue into Nero's mouth easily. Nero's hands instantly shot up to Dante's shoulders, pushing on him forcefully to try and dislodge him, but the man might as well have been made out of stone for all the progress Nero was making. It wasn't fair that he was so damn strong.

By the time Dante finally released his mouth, Nero was so light headed he that he was amazed he even remembered how to breathe. Whatever it was that had gotten into him apparently wasn't letting up as he dusted soft kisses down his neck, skipping over his collar and continued down his chest. Warm hands gripped him by the hips, pulling him closer to him as Dante continued his descent down his body. Every soft kiss left Nero shivering in it's wake, the damp patches left behind catching the cold draft wafting through the old window.

"D-Dante, what are you doing?" Nero managed to pant, propping himself up on his elbows as Dante planted a kiss above his naval.

"Celebrating," Dante replied calmly, kissing him again.

"Celebrating…what?"

"Christmas, naturally. Should I stop?"

Without warning, Dante removed one of his hands from Nero's hips, grinding his palm against Nero's crotch relentlessly. Nero gasped loudly, flopping back onto the bed with a grunt as Dante teased him through the constricting fabric. He could hear the old man chuckle at him as he tossed his head back and forth on the disheveled comforter, trying to control the sounds escaping his mouth.

"Is that a no you don't want me to stop? Or what?" Dante chuckled, ghosting his palm across Nero's growing bulge.

"No-I-just-" he stammered out, trying to decided on what he really wanted. "I don't know!"

"You seem to get really confused at times like these, kid. You're gonna have to be more honest with yourself."

"Don't call me that! Not when you're doing things like that!"

"Call you what? _Kid_?"

Nero sat back up, barely able to hold himself up on his shaky arms, glaring down at Dante as he unbuttoned his jeans. The smirk on the older man's face managed to piss him off to no end, despite the fact that his body was thoroughly enjoying the torture.

"If you're gonna do shit like that, at least call me by my name!" he growled.

"Oh, so you don't mind this," Dante chuckled, sliding his hand down into his jeans. "As long as I call you _Nero _while I'm doing it?"

Nero cried out as Dante grabbed his length through the fabric of his boxers and instantly covered his mouth with his hand to muffle the noise. Dante didn't seem at all pleased with his attempt to quiet himself, reaching up with his free hand to pull Nero's hand away.

"Don't do that," he demanded, sending a tremor down Nero's spine.

"I c-can't help it!"

Dante simply shook his head, releasing him to grab the waistband of his jeans and tugged them down. His entire body lurched as Dante tugged the jeans off of him impatiently. It was a rare occasion when Dante went as far as stripping him when a shower wasn't involved. Simply because Nero's brain would literally shut down on him, rendering him unable to really respond to whatever Dante was doing, but to older male didn't really seem to care. And maybe it was the alcohol, but Nero couldn't really find a reason to protest as his jeans were quickly discarded.

There was no denying that Dante's impatient attitude when it came to anything sexual both frightened and excited him, though fear usually won the battle. But today, it wasn't as scary as he thought it should be. If anything, he felt a little impatient as Dante reached up to inch Nero's boxers down slowly. He couldn't say that he was exactly _happy _that he had to drink to stop being afraid of Dante, but it _did _work. He was tired of being the one who pulled away, tired of his inexperience and fear ruining their relationship.

Nero watched intently as Dante tossed his boxers aside haphazardly, trailing his hands back up his thighs slowly. His body quivered in anticipation as Dante moved closer to him, kneeling on the end of the mattress and pressed his lips against the tip of his dick. The teen clamped his eyes shut, hissing softly as Dante's hot mouth enveloped him. For a brief moment he found himself wondering if that was what Dante had felt when he'd done it. If so, he'd done an _amazing _job.

There was no other word that he could think of to describe the sensation other than _good_. Dante's tongue coiled around him as he moved farther down, the head of Nero's cock pressing against the back of his throat for a brief second before he suddenly brought himself back up the shaft. Nero tried his best to hold back the pants and moans that threatened to break free without the use of his hand. He was afraid that if he made Dante upset that he would stop and that was the _last _thing he wanted. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't stop himself from gasping Dante's name every time the older male bobbed his head up and down his length.

"Dan-te, p-please," he pleaded, clawing at the blanket. "S-stop."

He had a good feeling that Dante wasn't about to let him go, much like Nero had refused the night he came home wounded. But when he suddenly pulled away, licking his lips as his evil grin returned, Nero couldn't stop his hips from bucking up off of the bed seeking the warmth again. Dante chuckled at him, crawling up until he was hovering over him and dipped his head down to kiss his throat. Shivering, Nero wrapped his arms around Dante's shoulders trying to get closer.

A warm arm snaked around his lower back, pulling him up off of the bed so that his chest was pressed against Dante's as he continued his assault on his neck. Normally he would have complained about the marks he _knew _Dante was leaving behind, but he decided not to bitch and just enjoy the tingles of pleasure the light nips and sucks were sending down his spine. Dante, who he knew wasn't patient, had restrained himself for nearly a month. And Nero had a good feeling how their Christmas celebration was going to end. Impatient hands trailed all over his naked body, unable to settle in once place for too long. Whether Nero was mentally ready or not, it was happening one way or another and he didn't have the will to tell Dante to stop. Or maybe…he just didn't _want _him to stop.

* * *

><p>He wasn't resisting. At all. Which both excited and worried him. Dante had expected more retaliation than the half hearted plea he'd received while his mouth was attached to the teen's cock. At the time, part of him wanted to just finish it, but he was no where near done teasing him yet. Dante found himself peering at the clock out of the corner or his vision. He didn't have long until midnight and while he wasn't about to rush, he was going to have to pick up the pace while Nero wasn't shoving him away. There was no telling exactly how far he would be able to get before Nero refused him.<p>

Lowering him back onto the bed, Dante detached his lips from his collarbone and sat back to admire the view as he pulled off his own shirt. Nero had dropped his arms back onto the blanket, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. His pale neck was dotted with small red marks where Dante had bitten him as gently as possible. He was so used to Nero bitching when he tried to mark him that it was a little shocking when he hadn't said a word aside from his name. Now that he _saw _his handy work, it was obvious he'd gotten a little carried away. At the very least, the bite marks were no where near as permanent as the scars.

Dante couldn't help but grin at Nero as his eyes roamed over his bare chest once he'd discarded his shirt. For someone who acted embarrassed by their intimate encounters, he certainly didn't mind admiring Dante's body blatantly. It wasn't until he reached for his belt that Nero's eyes snapped up to his, staring at him with uncertainty. There was no possible way the teen _couldn't _be scared of what was going on. Dante himself was a little nervous. Not because of the act, but because of the aftermath. What if Nero hated him for it? What if he left him because of it?

Gritting his teeth, Dante unzipped his jeans to make them a little more bearable and left it at that, leaning back down to kiss Nero softly. The teens arms flew back up around his neck, pulling Dante down father into the kiss as Nero parted his lips for him without any encouragement. Dante was glad that it helped to ease the tension that had suddenly crept into the room. Loving the way Nero's fingers tangled in his hair, trying to pull him closer still. He actually had to fight to get Nero to let him go long enough to break the kiss so that they could _breath_.

"Someone sure is eager today," Dante scoffed, watching Nero pant beneath him.

"So? Isn't that what you want?" Nero spat back, scowling up at him.

Dante sat back on his knees, frowning at him as he moved his hands up to cup Nero's cheeks.

"Don't make it seem like I'm the only one who wants this. And if I am, you know where the door is, kid," he demanded, brushing his thumbs over his cheekbones.

He watched as panic flashed across Nero's face, his head shaking back and forth as quickly as possible. Dante chuckled, leaning down to kiss his forehead. He was just too damn adorable for his own good.

"Calm down, it's not like I'm gonna kick you out or somethin'," he mumbled, sliding off the end of the bed to pull off his jeans.

Nero still looked anxious, sitting up on the bed to see exactly what Dante was doing as he dug around in the nightstand for the small bottle of clear lube that he kept just in case. He could see the curiosity on Nero's face as he squeezed a small amount onto one hand and tossed it onto the bed next to him, but he didn't dare touch it. For a moment, he almost considered explaining to the kid what was about to happen, but the more he thought about it the more terrifying it sounded. Or maybe he just sucked at explaining things. Shaking his head lightly, he crawled back onto the end of the bed, wedging himself between Nero's legs gently.

Reaching out, he wrapped his dry hand around Nero's length, giving it a leisurely stroke that made Nero's eyes roll back in his head. Hopefully, if he was lucky, he could distract Nero enough with the pleasure to keep form freaking him out. When he was certain that he was distracted enough by the lazy strokes of his hand, he moved to a more comfortable position between the teen's legs and moved his fingers toward his entrance. Keeping a close eye on Nero's face, he almost lost his train of thought as he watched Nero chew on his bottom lip, gasping lightly with his eyes clenched shut. As soon as his slick fingers brushed against him however, Nero's eyes shot open. The confused looking teen wiggled as far away from him as he possibly could, considering Dante was still gripping his dick.

"Dante, what-" Nero gasped, frowning at him as he gripped the blanket.

"Relax, kid. You gotta trust me," Dante murmured, refusing to release him. "Have I ever hurt you before?"

Nero shook his head no, but he knew it was still going to be a difficult obstacle to get over. Waiting until after Nero had settled back down on the blankets, Dante slowly slid his fingers back between his legs and eased one slick digit into him. He could hear Nero whimper at the uncomfortable sensation, but he didn't try to get away again. Once he had his finger buried in him, Dante paused, giving him time to adjust before he withdrew the finger slowly and pushing back into him. Nero lay there, gripping the blankets, one eye clenched shut as Dante continued to move within him, leaning down to close his mouth around the head of Nero's length again. He couldn't help letting out a contended sigh when Nero cried out his name breathily, a trembling hand tangling in his hair.

It didn't take long for the teen the completely forget about Dante's finger as his mouth kept him easily distracted. Very carefully Dante slipped a second finger in alongside the first, moving slowly when he head Nero hiss under a heated moan. Removing his mouth from Nero's cock, he glanced up at him, admiring the red flush of his cheeks as he continued to stretch his tight entrance. Nero looked mildly disappointed at the lack of Dante's mouth on his dick, but he was amazingly pushing his hips down onto Dante's hand, trying to find the pleasure in the act. Smirking, Dante curled his fingers gently, brushing against the tiny bundle of nerves that would make all of the discomfort worth it.

Nero gasped loudly, falling back onto the bed, his body quivering violently as Dante teased the blissful spot within his lover. Dante couldn't help watching as he tossed his head back and forth on the bed, his back arching up off of the blankets as he tried to impale himself farther on Dante's fingers. He was sure that Nero would have objected long before they got to this point, but it was clear that he was already over the strangeness. And Dante's self control was quickly wearing thin. Every moan that Nero let out caused his own arousal to twitch in response, a heat burning under his skin that he wanted to answer. But it was important that he take his time, that he pace the kid before he hurt him unintentionally.

When he suddenly stopped his relentless torture and slowly removed his fingers from Nero's body, the teen collapsed back onto the bed, panting heavily as he no doubt tried to process what it was that had just happened to him. Propping himself up on either side of Nero's body, Dante slowly moved to hover him, staring down at his hazy blue eyes as Nero fought to keep his body from trembling.

"You ok, Nero?" Dante asked, a sly grin spreading over his lips.

Nero could only nod in response, closing his eyes tightly as he continued to gulp down air as if he had been drowning. Leaning down slowly, Dante planted a soft kiss on his jaw line. There was tense moment when Nero's hands suddenly lifted off of the bed, gripping the waistband of Dante's boxers and tugged on them gently.

"Dante…" he whispered, teeth chattering as if he were cold despite their heated actions. "Don't stop."

His body shivered at the lustful tone in Nero's voice and even if he had wanted to stop just to spare the kid any discomfort, there was no turning back now. Sitting back up he allowed Nero to tug his boxers off slowly, marveling at how he kept licking his lips as Dante helped him to pull the rest of the fabric off his body, rummaging around on the thrashed bedding to find the clear bottle. Nero watched him curiously as he spread the cold liquid over his length before he suddenly tossed the bottle aside without a second thought and reached down to grab the teen by the hips. Nero gasped lightly, instinctively lifting his hips up off the bed as Dante positioned himself at his entrance and paused for just a moment to glance up at him. Even though he was sure he wouldn't be able to stop himself now, he couldn't stop himself from hesitating for that brief moment until Nero nodded at him.

Pushing his hips forward slowly, he eased himself into Nero as gently as possible, clenching his eyes shut when Nero hissed through his teeth. Dante was a considerable amount larger than two fingers and he knew that it had to be painful for the kid, but he never once told him to stop. Dante could feel his hands gripping his forearms, pulling on him rather than pushing him away as if to encourage him to keep going. Pale legs wrapped themselves around Dante's waist as he pushed himself in to the hilt, groaning at the pleasant tight, wet heat surrounding him. His first instinct was of course, to pull right back out and slam into the thin body under him at a blistering pace, but he forced himself to remain still. Opening his eyes slowly, he let out a shaky breath as he watched Nero's chest heaving.

"Nero?" he breathed, trying to get some kind of response out of the teen aside from the pained hiss he'd let out in the beginning.

"I said…not to stop…Dante," Nero panted, clawing at his arms.

Smirking, he leaned down to be closer to his face, reaching down between their bodies to grab Nero's length. He moaned loudly, wiggling his hips down onto Dante's cock.

"You're ordering me around now, hm? I don't think that's how this is suppose to work. I should stop just to punish you," Dante joked, knowing damn well there was no way he could stop what he'd started.

"N-no! I didn't mean it-like that," Nero pleaded, writhing under him as Dante pumped his hand down his twitching member. "Please, Dante!"

"Well, since you asked so nicely…"

Sitting back up, Dante removed his hands from the teen's drooling cock, grabbing a hold of his hips gently as he pulled himself back out of the tight heat. His first thrust back into the teen was just as slow, Nero letting out a low groan as he slowly became accustomed to the feeling. Dante found if he focused more on what Nero was feeling and how he was responding to his movements, it was easier for him to keep himself from just fucking the poor kid through the bed. A few slow, calculated thrusts later and Nero was moaning underneath him carelessly. Every time Dante jarred his body he would moan his name loudly, followed by the soft clink of the tags on his collar. Perhaps his gift wasn't that stupid after all.

Stopping abruptly, Nero's eyes flew open, staring up at Dante in sheer confusion as he pulled himself out of the teen and pried his legs away from his waist. Before Nero could even question what he was doing, Dante grabbed him by the waist and forced him to roll over onto his stomach.

"Dante, wait, what're you-" Nero protested, gasping lightly when Dante pulled on his hips to hike his ass up into the air.

His sentence was quickly cut off as Dante thrust back into him, causing him to cling to the sheets for dear life. It didn't take long for Nero to realize that their new position allowed him to push back against Dante to meet each one of his powerful thrusts. It was becoming increasingly harder to keep himself under control, each time he slammed back into Nero he grew a little more rough, setting a pace that had the tags on Nero's collar clinking together almost constantly. He couldn't help but smirk to himself, thinking of how appropriate the sound was, like little jingle bells. _How very festive…_

"Ah! Dan-te!" Nero cried out suddenly as Dante shifted his hips ever so slightly, apparently angling himself in such a way that it hit Nero's prostate head on.

Grinning evilly, Dante stopped mid thrust, leaning down over Nero's back.

"What is it Nero?" he purred, loving how Nero whined and tried to wiggle himself backward to gain more of the sweet friction.

"Don't…tease me, Dante!" he panted, pushing himself up so that he was on all fours.

"Tease you? Why would you think that I'm teasing you?"

"Because! You just…stopped," Nero whined, trying to fight Dante's grip to continue the thrusts himself. "It felt…_good_."

"This?"

Dante chuckled softly, snapping his hips forward to hit the spot again and Nero's arms gave out of him, sending him tumbling back down onto the bed.

"Y-yes! There!"

Shaking his head, Dante resumed his demanding pace, reaching around Nero's hip to grab his length and began stroking him in time with his thrusts. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was starting to lose control of his body. Every now and again he would feel his hips buck out of time with all of his other thrusts, feeling Nero's body quivering around him in a maddening way. As close as he knew he was, he couldn't end it before he was certain that Nero was thoroughly satisfied.

"Dante, Dante I-" Nero moaned out, his body jerking back against Dante sporadically.

"Come for me, Nero."

Nero's body went rigid against his, Dante continuing to stroke him as he felt the teen's release explode over his hand, tight walls constricting around him ruthlessly. Dante grunted loudly, thrusting back into him one last time as his own release erupted almost violently into Nero's body. With both men spent, Nero's body collapsed to the sheets below them as soon as Dante pulled himself out of him. For a moment, Dante just sat back on his knees, staring down at Nero as they both panted loudly. Crawling up to hover over Nero's back, Dante placed several small kissing across his shoulder blades, smiling warmly as Nero shivered under him. Glancing up at the clock, seeing that it was only a few minutes past midnight, there was only one thing left to do before they could turn in for the night.

"Merry Christmas, Nero."

* * *

><p>The sun was bright and the only thing he wanted to do was roll over and bury his face under the nearest pillow to avoid the pain it was causing his eyes. But there was a loud pounding noise that just wouldn't let him fall back asleep. It could have been his brain knocking around in his skull. It certainly felt painful enough to be the cause of the noise. He didn't care what anyone said, he was never drinking again. Drinking lead to…<em>sex<em>?

Sitting up abruptly, Nero squinted around the room, throbbing eyes falling on the sleeping male beside him who was annoyingly oblivious to the knocking sound emanating from downstairs. The events of the previous night flooding back into his pounding brain with enough clarity that he instantly blushed, glancing down at the naked man in amazement. He hadn't even bothered to cover his own bare ass, while Nero was snugly tucked under the warmth of the blankets. Snorting, he peeled the blankets away from his body slowly and tossed them over Dante. Nero would never be able to get over the fact that the damn man could sleep through a damn tornado…

"You're gonna make yourself sick sleeping like that, old man," Nero sighed, swinging his legs off the side of the bed.

The moment that he went to stand he had to balance himself on the dresser to avoid toppling over due to the throbbing pain in his backside. Sex with Dante had not only been an entirely new experience for him, it was both pleasurable _and _painful. But he knew that pain hadn't been Dante's goal when he committed the act, so it was easily forgiven. Not to mention the fact that Nero himself had egged the older man on. Dante knew about things that Nero never even knew existed within himself and after that first small taste of the mind numbing bliss, he honestly never wanted it to end.

After pulling on his boxers and jeans from the night before at a very slow and careful pace, Nero inched his way down the hallway to answer the never ending banging. It had to be Lady, stopping in to check on them after their night of drunken antics. He was sure she probably wouldn't want to know exactly how their night had ended, but she was probably checking to make sure Dante hadn't gotten Nero totally shit faced and let him down in a pile of his own vomit. Now that he thought about it, he was _really _glad their night had ended the way it did instead of the other option. Drowning in one's own vomit seemed like a pretty terrible way to go…

"I hear you! Stop banging!" Nero shouted as he reached the bottom of the stairs and magically the knocking stopped.

It took him a moment to force his hazed brain into remembering how to unlock the front doors before he ripped one open, glaring at what he had expected to be an angry looking brunette woman. Instead, he found himself frowning at the figure before him in complete awe, knowing damn well what he was seeing couldn't be _real_. Could it? For a moment, he just blinked a the man before him, glancing back toward the stairs in the office knowing that he had just left Dante sleeping, nude, in their bed. So how the hell was he standing outside the office, wearing a nicely pressed suit, staring back at him like he was incompetent. The man was a mirror image of his boyfriend!

"You…are _not _my brother," the man stated calmly and Nero nearly keeled over.

He was _never _drinking again.


End file.
